ELGIN — O’Neill came to Elgin with just one loss on the season. Unfortunately for Wolfpack fans, they left town still with just one loss.
A very competitive first half turned into a one-sided affair as the Lady Eagles defeated the Wolfpack 83 to 57.
For the first two quarters the Wolfpack outfought the Lady Eagles for every loose ball and took advantage of nearly every scoring opportunity.
EPPJ built an eight-point lead in the first quarter as Braelyn Martinsen and Kinley Drueke made treys while Mady Kurpgeweit, Jael Lammers and Elizabeth Moser connected inside for a 15 to 7 lead.
O’Neill fought back at the end of the quarter with a trey and four made free throws to cut the Wolfpack’s lead to 15 to 14.
Five straight points by Kurpgeweit early in the second quarter gave EPPJ a three-point lead. Then, over the final 3:50 before halftime, the Lady Eagles outscored EPPJ 11 to eight to lead 35 to 30 at halftime.
“I thought we did some really good things (in the first two quarters),” Coach Randy Eisenhauer said about the first half. “If we make our free throws we lead at halftime.”
The second half was another story as O’Neill got off to a quick start with an 11 to zero run and never looked back. In a 30-point quarter the Eagles seemingly couldn’t miss. And, when they were fouled, they went to the line and made 11 of 12 free throws to lead 65 to 32 with one quarter to play.
….see more at this week’s Elgin Review.
