EATON — After enduring a three-game losing streak early in the season, the Eaton Eagles girls’ basketball team has now won six of its last seven games, including three wins last week against National Trail on Monday, Dec. 14, Brookville on Thursday, Dec. 17, and Hamilton Ross on Saturday, Dec. 19.
The Eagles defeated the Blue Devils 41-33 in a Southwestern Buckeye League Southwestern Division match-up on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Julia Titus continues to play well for the Eagles, recording another double-double for the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
“She is currently averaging a double-double, she has become a force inside and really wasn’t even at full strength this week because she was sick,” Eagle head coach Dave Honhart said of his senior. “But she is really playing well at both ends of the floor — she’s figuring out when to score and when to pass, which she loves doing and that makes her a good teammate.”
Senior Madi Bowman also had a strong night on the glass, pulling down 11 rebounds for the Eagles. She also added seven points that Honhart described as “timely.”
Despite only scoring 14 points in the second half, the Eagles defense stepped up and only allowed 12 in the second half.
The Blue Devils shot just 24 percent for the game and the Eagles had 14 steals in the game.
Senior Brittany George scored 11 points, including three threes, joining Titus as the only other Eagle in double figures. Junior Megan Lipps scored three points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.
“Brittany does a ton of things for us that do not show up in statistics,” Honhart said of his versatile senior. “Now, she is starting to do some things that show in the stats.”
On Monday, Dec. 14, the Eagles defeated county rival National Trail when the team visited the Blazers and used strong second and third quarters to run away from the Blazers.
The game was close after the first quarter with the Eagles leading 11-10, but a 34-12 run over the second and third quarters blew the game open for Eaton.
According to Honhart, the Eagles continue to struggle with offensive efficiency, shooting under 30 percent in the win, but grabbed 17 offensive rebounds as a team and dominated the glass recording 48 total rebounds for the game.
Titus once again recorded a double-double pulling down 19 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end. She scored 16 points in the game.
Paige Whitesell scored 11 points, recorded four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Honhart said his senior point guard continues to lead the team.
“She’s doing such a nice job leading us from the point guard spot. A lot of our toughness comes from our leaders and she continues to shoot the ball well from behind the line which really helps our team.”
In total, nine Eagles scored in the contest.
On Saturday, Dec. 19, the Eagles travelled to Ross, where once again Titus recorded a double-double on the way to a 42-33 Eagle victory.
She scored 10 points and grabbed ten rebounds as the team used another strong second quarter to take a lead heading into half time.
It marked her fifth straight double-double. Her last game without a double-double was a 25 point, seven rebound effort in a win over Tri-County North where she did not play in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles led 8-6 after the first quarter, but the lead was 13 by halftime, 26-13.
Ross chipped away in the second half, but the Eagles held the home team and went on to win the game 42-33.
Whitesell remained in form, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Sydney Lamberson scored eight points in the contest. Lipps added seven points off the bench and blocked three shots in the contest.
The three victories move the Eagles to 7-4 on the season and 3-2 in the SWBL Southwestern Division.
Honhart believes is team is starting to play well as they reach the midway point of the season.
“What really happened this week all of our players stepped up and contributed,” Honhart said. “We want to be a balanced team.”
The Eagles are back in action at St. Henry on Monday, Dec. 28, and host Tecumseh on Wednesday, Dec. 30.
Honhart called the upcoming games a challenge, but said his team is looking forward to the opportunity to play both squads.
Tecumseh is currently undefeated and boasts on average margin of victory of 39 points. They average 83 points per game while only allowing 44.
