Lady Eagles Find Their Rhythm to Beat Crossroads

In their first game after Thanksgiving break, our Lady Eagles took the court against Crossroads Christian College. With a slow and sluggish start which is typical of a game after a break, the Emmaus ladies struggled to get going and put up just 12 points in the first quarter, failing to convert on open shots and opportunities to jump ahead quick. The defensive, however, was still stifling as usual which made it hard for Crossroads to score. Even Though the Lady Eagles were sluggish out the gate, they still found themselves up by 16 at half-time. "I wasn't too worried. I just kind of sat back and let the girls figure it out. They know that when they aren't hitting shots that they need to stimulate the offense from their defense. Once we get some easy buckets, then we start to get into a rhythm. Once you get in a rhythm, then you get rhythm shots. We are a very good shooting team and when we get rhythm shots, we knock them down. It was a good learning experience for our girls," said Coach Graw.

The second half was much different as the Lady Eagles turned up the intensity a notch and found themselves knocking down in-rhythm shots. Jumping up 20 more points in the third quarter, Coach Graw utilized the bench to finish the game out. "This is the first year in my coaching career in which I've actually been able to put in subs in order to rest our starters for later games. It feels good being able to put in our bench and also see them play smart and controlled basketball," said Coach Graw. The Lady Eagles would go on to win 70–32 and receive their first home win of the season.

Alli Howard led with 15 points and 11 rebounds followed by Marissa Kerttula with 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists and Madison Laib with 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Photo credit: Lily Wanninger