Women’s Basketball Opens Conference Play with Win

Tonight was a night of firsts for the Women’s Basketball team at Spalding. It was their first home game of the season, their first conference game of the season, and their first ever conference game in their newly joined conference, the SLIAC. The team did not disappoint.

The first half started off very sluggish as neither team took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes. Spalding was getting good looks from the perimeter, unfortunately for them, no shots were falling. 10 minutes through the half Principia held a 16-13 lead with great play in the paint by their center, Lindsay Sydness who scored 8 points in the first half with 6 rebounds. After a timeout at the 9 minute mark Spalding came out with guns blazing. Two buckets in the paint by Jackie Skaggs and Kelly Harrod followed by breakaway layup by Kayla Hickman put the Golden Eagles up 20-16. Spalding’s defense kicked it into gear as they held the Panthers scoreless for over 8 minutes in the first half. The nemesis for the Golden Eagles, the three point shot, became their friend as Taylor Hickman and Megan Bunch hit back to back 3’s to end the half and put the Golden Eagles up 30-18 at half.

The second half was all Spalding as they started off the half on a 13-6 run.  The lead was extended to 22 points when Jackie Skaggs completed a 3 point play after being fouled by Principia’s Dani Corbitt. Skaggs proved to be too much for the Panthers to handle as she scored 10 points in the second half alone. The Golden Eagles when on to an easy victory by the score of 68-39

The leading scorer for the Golden Eagles was Jackie Skaggs who poured in 19 while Kelly Harrod led the charge on the boards as she pulled down 11 on the night. Spalding did a great job handling the ball as they recorded a season low 11 turnovers. On a side note, the first USCAA rankings came out today and the Women’s Basketball team currently sits in the 7th spot. Kelley Harrod was named the Honorable Mention Player of the week for the USCAA.