By Sydney Booth
What Happened: In a record setting evening, the lady Reds (18-2 overall) battled the Strasburg Indians (15-5 overall) for a win of 63-42 on Feb. 25. Strasburg had previously beaten the Reds on their home court Feb. 11, but the Reds proved that they could redeem themselves from an upsetting loss.The Reds started the game with the kind of momentum that belongs in a first quarter–something that they have been working on throughout the season. Their full court pressure seemed to throw the Indians off, and the Reds ended up capitalizing off of their turnovers on multiple occasions. As always, their defense was pulling out all of the stops to set the pace of the game.
Should’ve Seen It: Eaton’s Kaci Jurgensmeier (16) was on fire with three pointers all through the game setting a new school record for three-pointers scored in a game. She made seven out of the 12 she took, making her field goal percentage a whopping 58 percent. The lady Reds bench lit up when her shots caught nothing but net over and over again and as she hit the seventh, players hustled down the court to celebrate. Jurgensmeier said,“Every night there’s a different person that’s on and tonight I was. It was just great knowing that my team had my back when I was on [my game] and the reversal of that when they’re on [their game] that I have their backs. It’s just a really great team win.” Head coach Todd Hernandez also commented on the teamwork and team involvement that really made the game fun and exciting. Hernandez said, “The bench was great tonight. They were excited. I think the girls on the bench were more excited than she [Jurgensmeier] was. I think they wanted it for her more than she wanted it for herself so that was really cool to see.”
By the Numbers: The Reds put up double-digit quarters all the way through the game, proving that their offense was more calm and collected than the last time they played the Indians. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 14-10. Eaton really began to distance themselves on the scoreboard in the second quarter, despite a few back-to-back turnovers. Cooperation was key, especially when Strasburg turnovers gave the chance for the Reds to score. Strasburg, however, struggled to score and maintain the ball on offense for too long with Eaton’s stellar defense up in their faces all the way down the court. The Reds only let Strasburg score three points in the second quarter, earning them a score of 34-17 going into halftime. The same aggressive offense showed up third quarter against a slightly more determined Strasburg offense. This quarter, the Reds allowed Strasburg to score 12 more points while they earned 15 of their own. Caiden Rexius (16) led the team with nine rebounds and had some great putbacks during the quarter. Strasburg attempted to catch up with the Reds in the fourth, but to no avail. The game’s final score was 63 to 42. Leading scorers for the game were Jurgensmeier with 21 points off of just three pointers, Rexius with 13, Bailey Schumacher with 12, and Lindy Dixon (16) with 11. Schumacher also led the team in steals (5) and assists (6). Schumacher said, “[This game] we played a lot better, I think. Individually, of course, but also as a team we were all in it and we were all excited for everyone. I think we played 100 percent better.”
And the Crowd: Aside from the whoops and hollers that followed Jurgensmeier’s drained three-pointers, Eaton fans had a bone to pick with the referees when an illegal screen was called on Caiden Rexius (16) with about six minutes left in the third quarter. Moments later, fans protested that Strasburg got away with an illegal screen and personal fouls on offense. Coaches got involved and refs ultimately had to deliberate at the table. No technical fouls were called, but the crowd was in an uproar all the same–on both sides. There was also a 50/50 call when Brynn Millett (17) was called for a charge, and the Eaton bench was not happy with the call.
Up Next: In what could be their toughest game yet, the Reds will face the Sterling Tigers once again on Feb. 26 at 6:00 p.m. in a playoff game (the first round of the tournament) at UNC. If the Reds beat Sterling they will be guaranteed to host their next regionals game, and their record could possibly be good enough that the Seating Committee will give them an at-large bid to host, anyway. As far as gameplay, Hernandez said, “Sterling is a good team so we’re just going to have to take it possession by possession and be smart with the ball, limit turnovers, and hit the boards.” This will be the third time the Reds have played the Tigers (20-1 overall) and so far both teams have lost a game to each other. As the stakes get higher, this a game that is guaranteed to be action-packed.
