Eagle Grove's basketball teams boarded the buses on the night of December 19, to take the roughly hour-long ride to West-Bend for a varsity matchup on the Wolverines' home turf.
The girls game started with the Lady Eagles chasing the Wolverines, putting up 11 to the Wolverines' 17, in a competitive first period of play. But in the second period the Eagles ran out of gas, putting just 2 up as the Wolverines played as strong as ever, dropping another 17. And so the Eagles went into the half as underdogs, down 21 with the Wolverines at 34 to the Eagles' 13.
In the third, the two teams went head to head as they went into the second half. Both teams fought hard, and play was roughly even. But the Wolverines managed to barely overcome the Eagles, scoring 2 more for an 11 to 9 period.
Neither team fouled in the game and the two were closely matched in rebounds, with both teams taking the ball back off the board about as well as the other, whether offensive or defensive. Both teams attempted free throws eight times, but the Eagles dominated the Wolverines in successful FT's, getting baskets 75% of the time to the Wolverines' 37.5%, as the Eagles sank 6 to the Wolverines' 3.
In field goals and three pointers the Wolverines shone. Both teams attempted field goals often, 64 times from WBM and 51 from EG. But the Wolverines sank 22 and the Eagles only sank 9. And the Wolverines went for three pointers about twice as much as the Eagles did, and sank them more often too, making 7 out of 27 tries to the Eagles' 2 out of 13. And that made for an EFG (Effective Field Goal) of 39.9% for West-Bend-Mallard, over 19.6% for Eagle Grove.
It's often said that basketball games are generally won or lost in the EFG percentages, but in this case turnovers were a major factor as well. The Eagles lost possession of the ball without taking a shot 29 times. But the Wolverines lost the ball before shooting half as often. And in taking the ball, the Wolverines quite literally took the advantage from the Eagles twice as much as the Eagles did the same to them.
Still held back by that bad first half, the Eagles started the final period way down. They needed to pull a rabbit from their hat in the fourth if they were to win. But as it turned out there was no more magic in the hat, and the Wolverines managed to hold the Eagles back, putting up 9 as the Eagles put up 4. And that sealed the deal for the Wolverines, giving them a conclusive 54 to 25 victory.
Leading Eagles were a double sister act, with senior Braxton Steil and junior Chloe Steil, and juniors Madison and Nadia Kaiser taking the lead. Braxton and Chloe Steil were tied for the most points at 6, while Maddison Kaiser scored 4. Chloe Steil led in EFG getting 2 field goals and making 2 three pointers. Braxton Steil also got a field goal and 4 free throws. In assists Maddison Kaiser led with 3 while Braxton Steil got 2, and Chloe Steil got 1. In rebounds Nadia Kaiser led with 11 including, while Chloe Steil and Maddison Kaiser both got 7, with 2 being offensive for each. And Maddison Kaiser let in steals, with 2.
