A Tale of Two Halves for the Eagles

David Finney 

Barbourville, KY -  The Reinhardt Eagles would take the fans on a roller coaster ride of emotions when they visited Union College on Saturday, December 4th.  The Union College Bulldogs would come out with all cylinders pumping when they jumped out to a quick twelve point lead.  Eagles senior guard, Abi Haynes, would be the leader that would keep the Eagles close. The Bulldogs were red hot to start the game led by their team leader, Brooke Hammonds. At times, the outcome seemed very bleak for the Eagles, but they never quit playing for Head Coach Toby Wagoner and kept the game within striking distance. In the last minutes of the first quarter, Torie Williams would hit a three pointer silencing the crowd and bringing the lead down to nine and sparked a run for the Eagles. 

The second quarter saw the Eagles working their way back into the game with consistent scoring and leadership by Haynes. Midway through the second quarter, strong defensive play led to a fastbreak layup by Symone Williams which would bring the Eagles within three points and the intensity of the game seemed to increase at this point. This would be the closest that the Eagles could get the score and Union would have a run to end the second quarter extending their lead back to twelve going into halftime. 

As frustrating as this must have been for Coach Wagoner and his Eagles, the second half was a new opportunity to see what the team had left. Haynes would continue her smooth shooting and was helped by fellow guard, Catherine Shope. At the 5:49 mark of the third quarter, Haynes would go on a hot streak scoring a short jump shot, a three pointer, and another jumper all unanswered by the Bulldogs  and brought Reinhardt within four points.  Shortly after, a layup by Shope would have the Eagles only trailing by two. The third quarter would end with Katrice Jackson hitting the front end of a one and one and then later hitting two more free throws which had the score at 53 to 52 with Union College leading. 

The third quarter comeback by the Eagles set the stage for a nail biting finish. Reinhardt would see their first lead of the game on an early jumper by Symone Williams to start the fourth quarter. Reinhardt would extend this lead to six points after a short jump shot by Haynes and the Bulldogs fans were in shock. This lead was not safe as Union would work their way back to tie the game with less than two minutes left in the game at 68 all. The crowd in attendance were on the edge of their seats as Haynes hit a layup putting the Eagles up by two. Union would answer with two free throws tying the game again at 70 and an Eagle turnover led to a layup for Union giving them a two point lead in the final minute of play. The Eagles had one chance left to tie or win the game with nine seconds left, but a three pointer by Shope came up a little short ending the game. 

Although it was a tough conference loss for Reinhardt, the Eagles showed their determination to never give up as they overcame the first half twelve point deficit. Abi Haynes was on fire the entire game scoring a game-high of 32 points. Catherine Shope was the only other Eagle in double digit scoring with 11.  The Eagles will be back home this Wednesday night to face Tennessee Wesleyan. 

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter, and @ru_eagles on Instagram.  

For more information on Reinhardt Women's Basketball, please click here.