Castle Country Radio / AM 750 Drive Time Sports
The USU Eastern Lady Eagles earned back-to-back victories to begin the 2024-25 season, sweeping a weekend set at the Snow Classic in Ephraim Friday and Saturday.
Addasyn Scrivner scored a team-high 19 points to help lift the Eagles past No. 10 Casper Community College 74-65, opening the season with an upset win on a neutral court.
The lead changed six times in the season opener as both teams exchanged blows early on. Casper held a slim 21-20 at the end of the first quarter, but the Eagles responded with a hefty run in the second to capture a 41-36 lead at the break.
After a fairly even third quarter, USU Eastern created space in the fourth, opening a 14 point lead. The Eagles never relinquished the advantage, earning the nine point win.
Scrivner was highly efficient shooting the basketball, connecting on eight of nine tries from the field. Fellow starters Maci Wall and Addisyn Johnson also reached double-figures, scoring 11 points a piece.
USU Eastern garnered its biggest advantage on the glass, out rebounding Casper 42-26 for the game. Of the 42 boards, 12 came on the offensive glass, leading to 14 second chance points.
McKenzie Allen pushed the second unit for the Eagles, scoring 16 points off the bench, hitting five three-point shots in the process. Avery Sanders scored six points and Aly Coombs contributed four as the Eagles bench outscored Casper’s 26-23.
USU Eastern head coach Chelsey Warburton used a heavy rotation as 11 different players entered the game in Friday’s season opener. The large rotation played a factor as the Eagles shot 50-percent from the field and an outstanding 45-percent from deep.
The Lady Eagles built off the momentum from Friday’s win with another victory on Saturday, this time defeating the Utah All-Stars 74-55.
USU Eastern led for all but one minute of the game, creating its largest advantage of 19 midway through the fourth quarter.
Madison Anderson scored a team-high 13 points in a reserve role. Sanders was once again a factor off the bench as she poured in 12 points. Scrivner followed up her 19 point performance on Friday with 12 on Saturday, while Maci Wall contributed 11 points.
Eight different players recorded at least one steal as the Eagles used a high tempo defense to dictate pace. Allen and Wall both logged five steals as the team forced 26 turnovers in all.
“The team had a great opening weekend,” said Warburton. “They have been working hard and it was fun to watch them carry that over to the games.”
With the season now off and rolling, the Eagles will now prepare for a trip to Thatcher, Arizona. The road swing will feature three games in three days, beginning Thursday against Arizona Western. Friday the team will square off with Eastern Arizona before wrapping up the weekend on Saturday against Pima Community College.