By Sydney Booth
What Happened: The Lady Reds (18-2 overall) won their first game of the post-season against the University Bulldogs (8-13 overall) on Feb. 23 at home with a final score of 57 to 23. The Reds, despite a slow first quarter, controlled the pace of the game until the end. If the Reds had lost this high stakes game they would have had to win their next two games to get into the tournament.
By the Numbers: The Reds had an incredibly flat offense in the first quarter, and their turnovers did not help. University was not doing well either, and scored its first basket of the game with about two minutes left in the quarter. The first quarter ended with a score of 8-6 in favor of the Reds. As the second quarter started, the offenses on both teams put it into gear with call-and-answer layups for both teams. The starters for the Reds went back in with about 6 minutes left and started to light up the floor. At the half it was 26-11 and the Reds had their momentum back. The third quarter displayed the same Reds team the crowd had seen in the stand out second quarter. Coming into the fourth quarter, the score was 41 to 16, and the Reds used University turnovers to capitalize 0n their lead. The game’s final score was 57 to 23.
Should’ve Seen It: Although the first quarter was slow, it was not without a few great plays. With three minutes to go, the Reds were fouled and the ball was passed to Lindy Dixon (16) from the baseline by Caiden Rexius (16) after the call. Dixon passed the ball back to Rexius for an easy layup with no defense on her. During the third quarter, there was cooperation and an unselfish attitude from the whole team, especially when Bailey Schumacher (16) and Courtney Leafgren (16) worked together all the way down the court after a steal for a layup with about four minutes left in the third. Schumacher was the Reds lead scorer with 13 points.
And the Crowd: Throughout the game, the University fans were very upset with the calls from the three referees. There were many quick jump balls that did not allow the players to fight for the ball and develop plays. As far as Eaton’s aggressive defense, the University fans seemed quick to question fouls.
Basketball Is a Four-Quarter Sport: If the Reds had stayed at the same pace as the first quarter, the game could have been a different story. Head coach Todd Hernandez said, “I think the second quarter was probably the big difference.Their game plan was to slow the ball down and try to keep it a low scoring game. In the second we were able to get the game at our pace.”
Up Next: The Red’s next opponent is Strasburg who had to beat Liberty Commons in order to play the Reds. Even though Strasburg was down by 12 at the half, they came back and must now face the Reds on Feb. 25 on Eaton’s home court. Eaton lost to Strasburg in a shocking upset on Feb. 11 at Strasburg. As for what happened, Schumacher said, “With Strausburg we just really weren’t playing as a team and we were not like ourselves.” This will be a game of redemption for the Reds and a chance for Strasburg to prove that the Feb. 11 win was no accident.
