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The first 1 minute, 6 seconds of Thursday’s Missouri River Valley Conference West contest between Excelsior Springs and Grain Valley on the Eagles’ home court set the tone for a memorable 53-16 Senior Night victory.
The Eagles turned three quick turnovers into a 6-0 lead and never looked back.
At the 4:27 mark, the Eagles (10-4, 3-1 conference) had 11 steals and a 16-0 lead.
At the end of the quarter it was 18-4. Grain Valley led 45-9 after three quarters and enjoyed a running clock in the final eight minutes.
“It was a special night because all our seniors played, they all scored and we won,” Eagles coach Randy Draper said.
“We have some gazelles on this team. The girls can fly, and when we play defense like we played tonight, we’re going to get a lot of points off our transition game.”
Senior Lanae Wilke scored six first-quarter points. They were all layups following steals.
“That’s what we do – force turnovers and hit layups,” said Wilke, who finished with eight points. “Our goal every night is to get the ball and go. We were able to do that quite a bit tonight.”
Rachel Reddell came up with four first-quarter thefts and each led to a basket.
“Isn’t this a fun team to watch?” asked Draper. “They’re fun to watch, even in practice. And when they get after it like they did tonight, they’re really fun.”
When asked about the highlight on this special night, Wilke said, “Playing with my girls. Playing with my seniors.”
Seniors Jena Prue and Allison Brown came off the bench and joined in on the fun as the Eagles were never challenged.
“When you score those early baskets off turnovers, it gets the blood in the water. You start sharking,” Draper said. “The girls really wanted to play well tonight on Senior Night and they did.”
When they weren’t picking the pocket of the overmatched Tigers, Mariah Hernandez was hitting from the baseline and Brianna Nichelson was dominating in the paint.
Nichelson finished with 12 points and Hernandez added eight.
The Tigers (0-12, 0-4) never reached double-figure scoring in any period and had no player reach double digits. Sarah Server led Excelsior Springs with nine points. Grain Valley won the junior varsity game 41-15.
The first 1 minute, 6 seconds of Thursday’s Missouri River Valley Conference West contest between Excelsior Springs and Grain Valley on the Eagles’ home court set the tone for a memorable 53-16 Senior Night victory.
The Eagles turned three quick turnovers into a 6-0 lead and never looked back.
At the 4:27 mark, the Eagles (10-4, 3-1 conference) had 11 steals and a 16-0 lead.
At the end of the quarter it was 18-4. Grain Valley led 45-9 after three quarters and enjoyed a running clock in the final eight minutes.
“It was a special night because all our seniors played, they all scored and we won,” Eagles coach Randy Draper said.
“We have some gazelles on this team. The girls can fly, and when we play defense like we played tonight, we’re going to get a lot of points off our transition game.”
Senior Lanae Wilke scored six first-quarter points. They were all layups following steals.
“That’s what we do – force turnovers and hit layups,” said Wilke, who finished with eight points. “Our goal every night is to get the ball and go. We were able to do that quite a bit tonight.”
Rachel Reddell came up with four first-quarter thefts and each led to a basket.
“Isn’t this a fun team to watch?” asked Draper. “They’re fun to watch, even in practice. And when they get after it like they did tonight, they’re really fun.”
When asked about the highlight on this special night, Wilke said, “Playing with my girls. Playing with my seniors.”
Seniors Jena Prue and Allison Brown came off the bench and joined in on the fun as the Eagles were never challenged.
“When you score those early baskets off turnovers, it gets the blood in the water. You start sharking,” Draper said. “The girls really wanted to play well tonight on Senior Night and they did.”
When they weren’t picking the pocket of the overmatched Tigers, Mariah Hernandez was hitting from the baseline and Brianna Nichelson was dominating in the paint.
Nichelson finished with 12 points and Hernandez added eight.
The Tigers (0-12, 0-4) never reached double-figure scoring in any period and had no player reach double digits. Sarah Server led Excelsior Springs with nine points. Grain Valley won the junior varsity game 41-15.
