Photo by: Henoc Kivuye
The Lady Eagles traveled to Colorado this past weekend for the Pueblo Al Kaly Shriners’ Classic held by Colorado State University-Pueblo, extending their overall record to 3-1, losing to CSU-Pueblo and beating Colorado School of Mines.
The weekend also included junior Logan McKee posting her first career double-double, scoring 12 out of her 19 points during the second half to beat Colorado School of Mines 62-58.
“The trip to Colorado was really good,” sophomore Jasmine Hinton said. “The Friday game was hard because of the high altitude, so we had a hard time breathing. On Saturday we played a really good team. We had them, and then we just got tired on defense and they took it away. We learned some stuff there.”
The Lady Eagles were up 13 points early in the second half against CSU-Pueblo, but the Thunderwolves came back with a 20-7 run and won 77-69.
“They just started hitting shots,” Hinton said. “They would hit deep threes with our hands in their faces. Some of our key players were getting into big foul trouble.”
McKee scored 18 points and sophomore Sydney Hill scored 14 points, both making the All-Tournament Team at the Shriners’ Classic. Sophomore Aisha Martin scored a career-high 17 points for the Lady Eagles.
“I think it was a learning experience as far as what we have to do in a game to get better and finish strong,” Martin said. “It was just mental parts on our part. I think we got into a rut and we didn’t really have a motivator to get us out of it.”
The Lady Eagles’ most missed graduate from the 2012-2013 season was post player Katy O’Steen, who now serves as a manager for the team. O’Steen was honored as an All-American player last season.
“It’s different without Katy,” Martin said. “She’s not the center of everything we do anymore. We’ve had to adjust and find a new focal point of who is going to be the big players and step up. At the same time a lot of us have stepped up in a way that we don’t have that one player, we have multiple people who can be big on any night.”
According to sophomore Daisha Gonzaque, the loss of O’Steen allowed the opportunity for more players to take charge and lead the team.
“I think we have adjusted well,” Gonzaque said. “Our other players have really stepped up. Katy was a big part of our offense, and losing those points and a starter is rough, but it’s been an opportunity for our other players to step up.”
With this element missing from the team, the Lady Eagles had to do some introspection.
“This weekend we realized that last year when we needed a quick bucket, we would get the ball to Katy,” Gonzaque said. “It’s just different. Without Katy and Roz Hamilton being together, we’re missing that quick connection down low.”
According to Hinton, the loss to CSU-Pueblo could have been easily avoided, but small mental errors plagued the Lady Eagles.
“We just needed more communication on defense,” Hinton said. “They set a lot of screens and we just weren’t talking. On offense, we needed to be smarter and know who was doing what on which play.”
A 5’11” forward from Perkins, Okla., freshman McKenzie Stanford has played a huge role in Oklahoma Christian’s offense, sometimes acting as the key for a play in their opening games.
“She’s a post, but she’s not,” Hinton said. “She can shoot threes and she can drive. She’s really good and she’s a hard worker. I’m excited to see how she leads this team with the two years I have left with her. She’s an all-around player.”
The Lady Eagles travel to San Antonio, Texas on Thursday to battle conference powerhouse St. Mary’s University. The Lady Eagles and St. Mary’s both won and lost one game to each other during the 2012-2013 season.
“I think it’s going to be a good game,” Hinton said. “We’re going to have to dig down and work hard. We’re going to have to come out on fire and hit the big shots. They’re a really good team; we’re just going to have to focus.”
The Lady Eagles opened their season with two double-digit wins against York College and Southern Nazarene University. Their loss to CSU-Pueblo was their first of the season. St. Mary’s is also currently 3-1.
“I think we’re well prepared for Thursday’s game,” Gonzaque said. “We’ll do good. It’s always going to be a challenge on the road, but with teamwork and communication on the court I think we will do really well. We are a strong team this year.”
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