“Making the big shot wouldn't feel so good if missing it didn't feel so awful.” – Paul Pierce
The Eagle girls went down 0-6 after Thursday night’s matchup against Humboldt’s hungry Wildcats. Hosting the Wildcats, the Eagles were hoping for an impressive victory over the Wildcats, who were 3-2 before the match concluded. However, the Wildcats delivered more than the Eagles, capitalizing over their mistakes and devouring the points to leap their record from 3-2 to 4-2.
The first quarter started with a slow start from both teams, as it concluded with eight points for the Wildcats and four for the Eagles. The Eagles were only down four points as they entered the second quarter. When the second quarter arrived, the Wildcats assured it was theirs to take off with, as they penetrated through the Eagles’ defense and pounded 16 points to stretch their lead. Meanwhile, the Eagles’ second quarter mirrored the first as they added another four points. The Eagle girls never backed down from the Wildcats, however. Though letting up 16 points, the girls pushed forward continuously, aiming for more points. They were just outmatched. The Wildcats defense pressed the Eagles, forcing the girls to make mistakes as they capitalized and continued to add to the scoreboard. With the pressure from the Wildcats defense, blocking them from entering the paint, the Eagle girls aimed for three pointers. Nothing seemed to work for the Eagles, as the Wildcats had a response for every action made by the Eagle girls.
The second half tipped off worse for the Eagles. The third quarter opened the second half with the continuation of denial from the Wildcats with the addition of mistakes made by the Eagles, as their passes weren’t traveling to the right players. When the ball did reach the right player, it was dropped at times and trickled out of bounds, or stolen by a Wildcat. The third quarter saw 21 points scored by the Wildcats with another four for the Eagles. Just as the buzzer went off to close the third quarter, the Wildcats forced one final bucket as they sealed the third quarter with a dominating lead of 45-12. The fourth quarter saw the most points scored by the Eagles, five, while the Wildcats scored their least. Securing the win with nine points in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats walked off the court happily as their record stretched to 4-2. Eagle Grove’s grieving continues for the girls, unfortunately, as they currently sit 0-6 for the 2021/2022 winter season.
Let’s get back to that quote from the beginning. Those wise words from the NBA star can be a perfect summary for the Eagle girls this season, as though their season has repeated with devastating losses, the only way left for the girls to go is up. As said before, these losses, though they are losses for this season, each contain its own taste of victory as each match experience adds to the learning process and experience level for the Eagles. A young team that they are, the Eagle girls have learned about the hardships of losing, and the pain it carries as each game ends in a loss.
“Making the big shot wouldn't feel so good if missing it didn't feel so awful.” – Paul Pierce
The Eagle girls are set to host Garner-Hayfield-Ventura on Tuesday, December 21, with tip-off set to begin at 6:15 PM.
