Lady Eagles Come Up Short in Game Against Mount Vernon

The second game of the La Quinta Classic found the Lady Eagles matched up against a much bigger Mount Vernon Nazarene team. With six girls around 6'0" (including one being 6'3") and Hembera out, the post and painted area on the court would be quite the obstacle for Emmaus with a rotation of 6 with no one above 5'8". But the young and talented Lady Eagles had learned how to fight and it was their heart that lead them through the first half.

With four shooters on the court at all times, Mount Vernon had a difficult time guarding Rachel West and Erin Edmondson on the permitter as Emmaus ran their traditional 5 out offense which pulled their post out to play on the ball defense. It proved to work as Emmaus kept the game close in the first quarter, ending with a score of 16-22 with Mount Vernon Nazarene in the lead. The second quarter was similar as Emmaus looked to get the ball up the court quickly and knock down shots. The second quarter ended and Emmaus was still completely in the ball game as Mount Vernon Nazarene looked shocked that this small and young Emmaus team was hanging around. The score at halftime was Emmaus 34 and Mount Vernon Nazarene 43.

Our young and talented Lady Eagles were fighting and competing on every possession in the first half. But that third opponent "fatigue" showed its ugly face again in the third and fourth quarters as Mount Vernon Nazarene pounded the post and began to dominate the second half. "Coach Beil and I are very proud of our girls and how hard they fought all weekend. We've shown that we can compete at this level, but we need to fine tune some things on offense and get a deeper bench in order to sustain the type of pressure defense we need to apply to other teams. Our girls are working hard and are getting better fundamentally each week. Growth doesn't happen when you're comfortable; without working through adversity, you cannot get better. We embrace adversity because we know that if it is handled correctly, the way Romans 5:3-5 states, we will not only grow as individuals but as one body as well. We are one."

Madison Laib led the way with 19 points, followed by Erin Edmondson with 15, and Rachel West chipping in 13. Nakiah Kimble added 4 assists and Marissa Kerttula pulled down 6 rebounds. Emmaus will play AFLBS this Friday on November 13 followed by Mount Mary on the 14.