The women’s basketball team brought life and a regular season mark of 2-0 to the Dead River Company Classic this past weekend. At the end of the tournament, the team left with a first-place finish and a tie for the best start in school history.
The tournament brought together the Golden Eagles, Oakland, Columbia and Maine in Orono, Maine, for the two-day tournament, which began Saturday.
In round one of the tournament, the Golden Eagles were paired with their golden foes, the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland.
Coming into the game with the Golden Eagles, Oakland was the owner of an overall record of 1-1. Leading the way for the Grizzlies was sophomore Jayme Wilson, who came into the match averaging 20 points per game in the first two outings of the year, a loss to Boston College and a win against Central Michigan.
When the contest began, the Grizzlies held the Eagles in check as the team did not score its first points until there was just 15:29 left in the first half as they managed to miss their first nine shots. The Golden Eagles eventually tied the game at 11-11 as sophomore guard Carolyn Kieger hit a pair of free throws. In the process of tying the game, the Golden Eagles went on a 15-4 run during which they held Oakland scoreless for over five minutes.
In the second half the Golden Eagles continued their defensive style of play and held Oakland scoreless for seven minutes, building their lead up to 30. In addition, the Golden Eagles held Wilson to only three points in the contest.
Continuing their defensive theme, the Golden Eagles blocked nine shots in the game and enjoyed a rebounding edge of 56-33 over Oakland. The Golden Eagles also forced Oakland to shoot 27.3 percent for the game, earning the 73-49 victory.
Coach Terri Mitchell commented about her team’s defense in a statement: “One of our trademarks is defense and we take a lot of pride in making it difficult for teams to get a good shot off. When we weren’t shooting well I was preaching defense. We clamped down on them offensively and I knew our shot would eventually come around.”
Kieger led a trio of Golden Eagles in double-digit scoring as she finished with a season high of 20 points, while seniors Kelly Schwerman and Katie O’Grady finished with 10 and 11 points, respectively.
Sunday, the Golden Eagles met Maine in the championship of the tournament after the Black Bears defeated Columbia with a final score of 67-56 in the other game Saturday.
As Sunday’s game began, the Golden Eagles continued their defensive dominance by forcing six of Maine’s 17 turnovers in the first eight minutes, which sparked the Golden Eagles to lead by as many as nine early in the game.
The fight was not out of the Black Bears as the first half drew to a close, and carrying over into the second half Maine went on an 11-0 run to take a 28-25 lead.
Following the 11-0 Black Bear run, Maine moved the lead to seven points until senior Crystal Weaver came up big for the Golden Eagles.
“Crystal played like a senior today,” Mitchell said. “When it came to needing a big rebound or a big basket, she provided that for us.”
Weaver managed to score six straight points as the Golden Eagles went on a 13-0 run, giving them a 50-45 lead with under five minutes left to play. The Black Bears were not finished though, as Missy Traversi scored four straight points to pull Maine within one. The idea of a comeback was short lived as Schwerman locked the door on the tournament by burying a three-pointer with 2:08 left in the contest to help the Golden Eagles pick up the 57-49 victory.
In Sunday’s game, Schwerman led four Golden Eagles in double digits as she finished with 14 points. Also dipping in double digits were Kieger, Weaver, and freshman Christina Quaye, who finished with 12.
After Sunday’s game, Kieger was named tournament MVP finishing with totals of 31 points to go along with seven assists and 14 rebounds. Joining Kieger on the all-tournament team was Quaye, Petra Manakova of Oakland, Sue Altmann of Columbia, Melissa Heon of Maine and Heather Ernest of Maine.