Lady Eagles break into win column in exciting finish

The Eagle girls basketball team seemed to come out with the determination of ending their losing streak against the Bison from North Iowa in a home game last Friday. After forging a 12-2 lead after one quarter, and a 23-12 halftime advantage, they ended up having to hold off a furious comeback bid to get their initial win of the year by a 42-36 final.

It was a ragged start for both teams, and after the opening two minutes the game was still scoreless. The Eagles had some second and even third shot attempts, but nothing wanted to fall or bounce their way. Finally, at the 3:54 mark of the quarter, Jozey Gump fired the first salvo with a layup. A steal by Ariane Lyman right after that made it 4-0 as she scored. After a Bison basket, Gump drove in again to make it 6-2 followed by a Lyman layup to go to 8-2 as the purple and gold were off and rolling. Megan Sampson popped a long range shot from just inside the arc for a 10-2 lead, and Friedl then drove inside and to the rim to make it 12-2. That is how the quarter ended.

The Eagles became stuck on 12 for the first few moments of quarter two, but fortunately the Bison were not finding the basket on their end either. A bucket by Hannah Sampson from left of the lane made it 14-3, only to see them get stuck again. With the score at 14-6, Friedl stepped up to bury a trey. She was not finished yet, as she grabbed the rebound on a missed shot the next time down on that end and put it in for a 19-6 score. Hannah Huntley fed the ball to Lyman for a 21-8 advantage, followed by a Megan Sampson pass sister Kaitlin for two more to make for the halftime score.

The third quarter opened with Friedl driving in for a basket followed a bit later by another shot in close by her to make it 29-15. Lyman drove to the hoop from the left side to make it 31-19, followed by Lyman feeding Megan the ball underneath to take it to 33-22. The Bison would continue to chip away at the Eagle lead as the quarter ended.

For the full story, see this week's Eagle Grove Eagle. Subscribe by calling 1-800-558-1244 ext 122 or email Deb at circulation@midamericapub.com or by clicking here.