By Calvin Jensen, USU Eastern Sports Information Contributor
The USU Eastern women’s basketball team faced its biggest challenge of the season as the Lady Eagles took the court against No. 10 Western Nebraska Community College over the weekend.
In the first half of play, the Lady Eagles dominated from the floor, shooting 58%, which was crucial in response to Western Nebraska’s sharpshooter Tishara Moorehouse, who ended the first half with 20 points on the board. The team continued to show their passion, coming from behind on three occasions in the first half, applying pressure on the Cougars and keeping themselves within points of the lead. The Lady Eagles headed to the locker room down by one, without a free-throw taken, and the momentum of the game in their favor with a score of 38-37.
Plagued with turnovers and missed shots early in the third quarter, USU Eastern quickly fell behind as Western Nebraska found opportunities for made shots, surging ahead by double-digits. With the caliber of this year’s team on full display, the Lady Eagle’s defense stepped up big, allowing for the offense to close the gap and take the lead with 2:20 left in the game, 68-67. After a couple of Eagle turnovers and inability to stop Moorehouse’s shooting, the Lady Eagles ultimately fell to the Cougars by a score of 76-68.
After the game, head coach Chelsey Warburton was pleased with the way her team came out to play against the nationally-ranked Cougars. “This was a great game for us,” she said. Several positives to take away and we are proud of the team’s effort. We were sitting great with two minutes to go and a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t take care of the ball down the stretch.”
With points spread across the roster, the offense was led by Sharne Robati with 14 points, who shot 50% from the field and added nine rebounds in the game. Freshman guard Kinlee Toomer had her best game of the season with flawless shooting, adding 13 points, 8eightof which came from perfect shooting behind the free-throw line. Tia Amiperia contributed 11 point,s going 4-6 from the floor and 2-2 from the free-throw line.
“When we found ourselves down, I feel like the biggest thing that helped us was that we stayed together and positive,” said freshman guard Kinlee Toomer. “We are a very competitive team and refuse to give up. Our turnovers as well as them hitting tough shots hurt us, but it was a good learning point for our team.”
On Saturday, the Eagles rebounded with a dominating win against BYU-Idaho Club by a score of 110-31. Emmery Wagstaff and Kacelyn Toomer led the offense with 15 points each in the decisive win. Sharne Robati earned her fourth double-double on the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
“Everyone was able to get minutes and put points on the board today. Improving turnovers was our goal and we accomplished that,” said Warburton.
The Lady Eagles will finally return home to their fans to take on Western Wyoming Community College this Friday, Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. inside the BDAC.