Lady Eagles Capture Courtwarming Win Over Carrollton

The Lady Eagles basketball team emerged victorious on Holden’s Courtwarming night by defeating conference foe Carrollton by the final score of 55-31 on Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The win over the Lady Trojans avenges a loss suffered by the Lady Eagles at Carrollton that was settled in a 60-41 score in December.

“After watching our first meeting, it was clear that we buckled under their pressure,” said Holden girls basketball coach Ben Kiger. “We turned the ball over way to much. They also had three players score all but three of their points, so that was our focus. Don’t get rattled, and guard their best three.”

That focus led to a 29-21 halftime lead with Holden putting up 16 points in the second quarter after holding a 13-10 lead entering the second stanza.

Holden seniors Alli Iles, Marah Klover, and Courtwarming Queen Camille Davidson combined for 12 of Holden’s second quarter points with sophomore Lilee Keller and freshman Adalyn Campbell each chipping in a two-point basket. Sophomore Jaci Gower led the charge in the first quarter with six points in the paint.

“I thought our seniors were the leaders,” said coach Kiger. “I loved the way they were talking. It seemed like every out of bounds play they had, Millie was making sure we were aligned correctly. We were very balanced in scoring. Millie led us with 13, Adalyn and Alli each had nine points. Adalyn had some big free throws down the stretch. She is proving she can deliver in those moments. Alli had three big threes that kind of got us going, or pushed us a bit further ahead in each of the three frames.

“Jaci Gower had eight points. She really was a force in the first quarter which helped us set a tone. Marah had seven points. Lilee Keller had four points, but was an absolute force on the top of our zone. Rachel Wamsley had three, and Kia Harmon finished off the night with an offensive rebound and bucket.”
In the third quarter Campbell, Iles, Wamsley, and Davison combined for 10 points in the period as Carrollton mustered three points in the quarter.

The frustrations mounted for the Lady Trojans as senior guard Bella Ochoa picked up her fourth foul in the third quarter, and would later foul out. A warning on Carrollton head coach Michael Lock in the fourth quarter was followed shortly behind by Carrollton senior Sidney Mylar fouling out of the game. Campbell converted one of her two free throw attempts following a technical foul call against the Carrollton bench before Harmon closed out scoring in the game on a basket off of an offensive rebound.

“I was looking for Carrollton to make a run, but No. 1 (Ochoa) was so frustrated at our defensive pressure,” said coach Kiger. “When she fouled out, I knew we were in good shape to finish this game off. Their top three players scored a total of 16 points versus 49 in the first meeting.

“If you are looking for a definition of a team win, it was this game. I felt like we were locked in. Our bench was great. I think it is also good for the girls to see what they are capable of as we head into a tough district.”

Lady Eagles Surge Versus Spartans
Following their Courtwarming win over Carrollton last Tuesday, the Lady Eagles worked to a conference road win over Richmond by the final score of 58-45 last Friday.

As with Carrollton, the Lady Eagles had suffered a loss to Richmond early in the season in a Holden home game in the home-away conference season series.

“The Richmond game was a different story,” said coach Kiger in juxtaposing the home win over Carrollton with the win at Richmond. “We actually got down by nine points.

“We were not as locked in at Richmond as we were versus Carrollton. Millie came to play, though. She led us with 22 points. She was four-for-four from the line. She got a lot of steals at the top in large part thanks to Lilee, and our other guards’ defense.

“Lilee had 12 points, and was a solid six-of-eight from the free throw line,” continued coach Kiger. “Jaci Gower had eight, Alli had six with a huge three pointer in the third. Marah scored three, but got a lot of big rebounds late in the game. Finally, Adalyn had seven big points in the fourth quarter as we kind of pulled away. She was five-of-six from the free throw line.”
The Lady Eagles posted a 23-11 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to pull away on the scoreboard. That late advantage was aided by the Lady Eagles as a team converting 12 of their 15 charity stripe shots.

“Our team was 76 percent from the free throw line, and it was a huge difference in the game,” said coach Kiger. “Ironically, I felt like our poor free throw shooting cost us the first match-up, and tonight it was the difference. Now we have a week off to get some rest, get our seed in the district tournament, and push ahead to stacking a few more conference wins.”

At the end of last week, the Holden girls basketball team held an overall record of 15-6, and stood at 5-2 in MRVC-East play.
The Holden girls basketball team has an empty schedule this week, and is scheduled to return to regular season play on Monday, February 13, with a conference road game at Lexington.