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Rivals Clash at Shawnee
J. C. Tilton
Both Eaton and Shawnee's girls programs have not had the best of season's. Eaton came in with 5 wins and Shawnee just 3. However, Eaton's program is showing signs of life. That win total far surpasses the combined wins of the past two seasons. Shawnee is battling the effects of pay to play, which has decimated their numbers. There is no reserve team this season and their varsity bench is lean. Despite losing their previous encounter, Shawnee was going to give neighbor Eaton their best shot.
However, Eaton had other plans. They had a 9-1 run early in the game to open up a lead. Shawnee regrouped in the second quarter and kept pace, but could not make up any ground. Eaton had a 30-22 lead at the half. Neither team could score much in the third quarter. Eaton only scored 7, while Shawnee could only manage three points. Cold shooting by Shawnee was the problem. They had about 13 shots in a row that missed. The team did manage a 4th quarter run. They closed the gap to 7 before Eaton woke up. Freshman Dana Ferriell finally connected on a basket to end the Eaton scoring drought.
The momentum swung over for good to the Eaton side when Shawnee post player Brittany Hayes fouled out around the 5 minute mark. This opened up the inside for Eaton and 6 foot sophomore Allison Johnson took advantage. She scored 7 of her 12 points in this quarter. Shawnee ran out of answers and Eaton pulled away for a 59-41 win.
Eaton's head coach was asked for post game comments, “We had a lot of sickness this week. So we had a lot of missed practices and games this week. It was nice to have everyone back healthy and productive. Ferriell did a good job for us tonight as did Johnson, who came off the bench to score.” He was also pleased with defense, “Defense has been a problem, and I was glad to see the team hold them to 41. It was a great win for the team, we were able to beat a team twice in one season. We knew we had to play them all the way to the end, because they are a great outside shooting team. It was a boost to get Brittany Hayes out of the game. That allowed us to score a little more and made it easy on defense - we didn't have to pack them in anymore. “
Coach Bair stated that illness and injuries were a factor for Shawnee as well. “Gwen Davis had some calf problems during the game. Another player was out with a hyper extended knee, Brandy Puckett was sick earlier in the week. But turnovers were the big problem. No passing, no hands, we missed some easy shots, it all adds up.” Kate Clippinger did give Shawnee some quality minutes. “I was pleased with Kate Clippinger, she came in and worked hard on defense, got some offensive rebounds. A lot of times she plays soft, but tonight she was ripping down rebounds.” She was then asked about losing Hayes in the 4th quarter, “ It did kill us to lose Hayes. She is a strong, intimidating presence inside. The guard play could have been better, we seemed to do a lot of watching tonight. But we are green, Davis is the only guard who had much playing time on varsity last year. I was proud of them for not laying down and fighting all the way.”
Scoring for Eaton: Boyd 3, Bryant 6, Ferriell 21, Fozo 5, Jenkins 4, Johnson 12, O'Banion 7. Shawnee: Clippinger 4, Davis 11, Hayes 6, Hershner 6, Puckett 7, Stubbs 5, Ulyshen 2. Comments: email: Chris Tilton <mailto:email: Chris Tilton>
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