It’s Back to the Drawing Board for the Eagles

David Finney

Waleska, GA - This Saturday was set to be a big day for basketball inside the Brown Athletic Center as the Eagles were welcoming the AAC leaders, Bryan College Lions, to the Reinhardt University campus. Everyone that follows AAC women's basketball knows that Bryan has a very talented team and they are ranked #15 in the nation for a reason, however, the Eagles were determined to give it their best shot.

The Lions move the ball very quickly up the floor, but it is not your typical fastbreak team. Ball movement from player to player is superb and they are not afraid to launch a three-pointer even if they are several feet back from the three-point line. Even when they push the ball up the floor, they still set up in a set offense with their players scattered around the three-point line with each of them ready to pull the trigger at any time. Coach Wagoner and his staff wanted to slow this offense down which easily scores 90 points each game on the season, however, when slowing down the offense - it is key to make sure you are scoring when the chances are there.

The Eagles did slow things down and the plan was holding the Lions from scoring, however, the shots were not falling for Reinhardt. Each possession, Reinhardt worked the ball around until they were able to get the best shot possible, but nothing seemed to be falling the Eagles way. It was not until almost seven minutes into the first quarter that Reinhardt would get its first points. The points came on a short jumper from Symone Williams. The Eagles desperately needed their top scorers to step up and make shots, but it was not going to be their afternoon.

The cold start for the Eagles allowed the Lions to push out to a comfortable 17-3 lead early. When you are playing a team that is ranked nationally, it is essential to keep up with them in scoring and do not build a hole for yourself. It did not take long for the Lions to make the hole and the Eagles would have to spend the rest of the game getting out of that hole. The first quarter would end with a 23-5 lead deficit for Reinhardt.

Things would improve a little for the Eagles in the second quarter as they held Bryan to just 14 points which is significantly lower than their quarter scoring average. Julia Craft tried to chip away at the large lead making a three-pointer followed by a couple of free throws. Despite the efforts from the Eagles, they were not able to make a huge leap to catch the fast-moving Lions and Reinhardt would be down 37 to 15 at the break. 

Unfortunately, the third quarter would be similar to the first quarter for the Eagles and the lead for Bryan would be extended. It seemed that Reinhardt was able to get good looks at the basket similar to the first half, but all the layups were sliding off the rim. Catherine Shope had a nice drive that did show a little sign of a spark, but the Lions were relentless and their three-pointers kept mounting up. The remainder of the game would go in this fashion and it was just not in the favor of the Eagles.

This is a game that you quickly put behind you and begin focusing on the next contest. You can still learn from your mistakes, but you want to move on to the next opponent. There were a couple of bright spots for the Eagles as Shope would get into double figures at 10 points and there was a tremendous effort by Julia Craft scoring 12 points coming off the bench.

The Eagles will need to heal their wounds fast as they hit the road on Monday for a game at Milligan University. Coach Wagoner and staff will have the team ready to gain some ground in the AAC standings. The next home game for our Eagles will be Wednesday afternoon at 5:30 pm at the Brown Athletic Center.