New Year Starts with a Loss

With the Holiday Season over its back to work for the Spalding Women’s Basketball team. However, the New Year started off on the wrong foot as they took on Conference foe Webster University from St. Louis. MO.

The first half started very sloppy for both teams as each struggled putting the ball in the basket. On the half the two teams combine to go 18-55 for 32% from the field with 20 total turnovers. However, each team began to feel a groove as the half wore on and Spalding extended an early lead all the way to eight with three pointers from Shontel Bates and Megan Davis. The tide quickly turned when Webster’s shooting guard Airyn Miller made back to back 3’s and gave Webster their first lead of the game since their opening basket. Spalding’s Kelly Harrod led all players with 10 first half points while Shontel Bates pitched in with 7. Spalding led in rebounds, steals and blocks but still trailed 27-26 going into halftime.

The second half started much like the first half ended. Each team traded baskets for awhile as both teams found a lot of chances in their transition game. At the 7 minute mark Webster’s Catharine Russell made back to back layups and pushed the Gorloks ahead for good. The Golden Eagles fought hard as they cut the lead to 4 at one point down the stretch. However, the combination of key shots not falling and missed free throws resulted in a Golden Eagle defeat by the score of 63-52. This is their second loss in conference which pushes their record to 1-2 in the SLIAC and 4-7 overall.

Leading the way for Spalding was Kelly Harrod with 10 points and 8 rebounds. The next game for the Golden Eagles is this upcoming Wednesday when preseason favorites Westminster College comes to town for a 6:00pm start in Derek Smith Gymnasium.