Girl’s basketball win by 10 points against Bulldogs
The University Bulldogs were beaten on their home court by the Eaton Reds with a final score of 41-31. Eaton solidified their league record at 8-2 in its last league game against University on Tuesday, February 14. The Reds will head into the state tournament at the three seed for the patriot league and will likely face University at the five seed in the district playoffs. University’s league record is now 5-5.
Eaton came out of the gate with offensive intensity, going on a 6-0 run in the first quarter before the Bulldogs were able to tie it up 8-8 headed into the second. Eaton pulled away 18-15 at the half, despite letting the Bulldogs score 7 points in the quarter. Things were pretty even in the third quarter with Eaton scoring 11 points and University scoring 10. In the fourth quarter, Eaton was able to distance themselves, relying mainly on a full court man defense that got steals. Eaton finished out the game with a final of 41-31. Overall, Eaton shot 42 percent from the field while University shot 29 percent. Eaton also had only 14 turnovers compared to University’s 23, according to Maxpreps.
Top scorers for Eaton were Celsi Jurgensmeir (18) with 9 points, Jayde Contreras (17) with 9 points, and Courtney Leafgren (17) with 5 points. For UH, top scorers were Delaney Morrow (17) with 8 points, Lainey Brown (17) with 6 points, and Madelyn Malm (19) with 5 points, according to Maxpreps.
A highlight for Eaton was the return of guard Jurgensmeier after her knee injury. Jurgensmeier drained two three-pointers at a critical time for her team and shot at 75 percent, according to Maxpreps. Jurgensmeier said, “January 13 was the last time I played in a game, so I have been out for a month. It felt great to be able to play again. It’s really an indescribable feeling being back out on the court. I just knew all I could do was give it my best for the team, I didn’t want to let them down.”
Players were also hurt at times in this physical matchup. University’s Jennie Arguello (17) was injured and immobile on the court for a number of minutes. She was taken off the court by a wheelchair, but later made an appearance in the fourth quarter, sprinting the length of the floor. Eaton’s Jayde Contreras also received a blow to the face that gave her a bloody nose; she returned very soon afterward to finish out the game.
The referees made a series of controversial calls late in the fourth quarter, but one was the most notable. Courtney Leafgren took the ball up the side of the court against University’s press and was trapped and pushed out of bounds by two University players. The referee closest to the action declared the ball out on Leafgren with no foul, while another ref came over to the table to clarify things. Instead of giving the foul to a University player, the foul was called on Eaton’s Brynn Millett who was yards away. This sent a University player to the line to shoot free throws, leaving Eaton outraged.
Eaton will play Weld Central (10-7 overall, according to Maxpreps) on Wednesday 15. This will be senior night for the Reds and the last time seniors Leafgren, Contreras, Brynn Millett (17), Faith Butler (17), and Kendall Vannest (17) will play on their home court in the regular season.
