Eagles Fall to Moundridge in Road Test
ECS Struggles with Pressure in 54-10 Loss, Looks Ahead to Goessel Tournament
MOUNDRIDGE — The Elyria Christian School Eagles faced their toughest challenge of the young season Thursday night, falling 54-10 to a strong Moundridge squad in a game that tested the team's composure against full-court pressure.
Despite the lopsided final score, head coach Greg Fields found positives in his team's approach and individual performances.
"It was great to play such a quality opponent, and I am so impressed with the work that Coach Huxman is doing with her girls," Fields said. "I was happy with the way we started the game, controlling the ball on offense and being patient for some shots. When they picked up their pressure, we really struggled."
The Eagles managed just 10 points on 14.8 percent shooting from the field (4-of-27) and went 0-for-4 from three-point range. The team also struggled from the free-throw line, converting only 2 of 11 attempts.
Joy Pyle led the Eagles with six points on 2-of-4 shooting and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. She also contributed two blocks while playing over 30 minutes.
"Joy ended the night with some good rebounds and she was our leading scorer with 6," Fields noted.
Grace Prescott added four points, five rebounds, and two steals while logging 31 minutes. Despite nine turnovers in the face of relentless pressure, Prescott's ball-handling and aggressive play drew praise from her coach.
"Grace did a great job handling their defense and being aggressive trying to find shots," Fields said.
Haven Bower contributed six rebounds, showing increased aggressiveness as the game progressed. "Haven Bower also got more aggressive as the game went on and was strong on the boards in the second half," the coach said.
The Eagles committed 22 turnovers against Moundridge's pressure defense, which helped fuel the Wildcats' 32-point scoring streak at one point in the game. Moundridge built their largest lead to 46 points and shot 46.9 percent from the field, including 25 percent from beyond the arc.
Kami Noggle added three rebounds and three deflections, while Amelia Moody played nearly 25 minutes despite being held scoreless. Abigail Stone also saw significant minutes off the bench.
The loss drops the Eagles to 0-2 on the season, but the team now shifts focus to tournament play at Goessel, where they'll face Central Christian-Hutchinson on Tuesday.
"We face Central Christian - Hutchinson on Tuesday at the Goessel tournament," Fields said.
The Eagles will look to rebound from back-to-back losses and apply lessons learned from facing two strong opponents to open the season.
ECS EAGLES 10, MOUNDRIDGE 54
ECS (0-2): Pyle 6, Prescott 4. Totals: 4-27 FG, 0-4 3PT, 2-11 FT.
Moundridge (1-0): Statistics not provided.
Next Game: Tuesday vs. Central Christian-Hutchinson at Goessel Tournament
Greg Loving
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