Eagles ride the Wave to victory

The Oran High School girls basketball teams opened their seasons last night on the road facing the Malden GreenWave.  Both squads picked up lopsided wins.  The jv won 41-8 and the varsity won 75-38.

The junior varsity tossed a 12-0 shutout during the first quarter and cruised to the 33 point win.

Head coach Ethan Evans said, "We played very well defensively and hit some shots early to pull away. We came out with confidence and really concentrated on defense and rebounding. It was a good start to some of these girls high school careers."

Heather Gosche scored 12 points for the younger Eagles.  Taylor Lowes had 11.  Katelyn Streeter scored 7, while Savannah Below and Madison Ramsey both had 5. Lowes, Streeter, Below and Ramsey, each hit one from beyond the arc. Paige Bradley hit a free throw, as every player scored.

In the nightcap, Oran was down by 4, 20-16, after the first eight minutes, but took control from there on and won by 37 points.  The Eagles outscored the class 3 hosts 59-18 the final 3 periods.

Evans said, "We came out and tried to press them full court early and quickly realized that was a mistake. There aren’t many teams that we play that we can’t press but they were one of them. Our girls didn’t quit and eventually pulled away from a very good Malden team. Our half court defense was sensational and our rebounding was excellent. We were cold from 3 point range but we were able to get to the basket and finish."

Sophomore Leah Cauble exploded for 45 points.  She hit 4 treys and was 11-13 from the line.  She also added 5 assists and 4 steals.  Classmate Jessie Long had a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards.  Freshman Kaylee Payne had 12 points, including a 3-pointer and 7 rebounds before fouling out. A third sophomore, Claire Ramsey, snared 11 rebounds, had 6 assists, four steals and chipped in 2 points.  Junior,  Kenzie Graviett scored 3 points and the lone senior on the team, Brianna Stause, added a field goal.

Gosche, Lowes, Madison Ramsey and Streeter all saw action during the varsity contest, too.

The Eagles hit 21-34 from inside the arc (61.8%) but only 19.2% beyond (5-26).  They shot well from the line 18-27 for 66.7%.

They will be back in action this evening at 6 pm when they have their home and conference openers against the Scott County Central Bravettes.