It’s been a while since Eupora has been able to compete on the court but the teams have been using that time to improve.
The Lady Eagles have had some close encounters and growing pains on the way to a 2-9 start while the boys squad is still searching for its first win in Austin Burl’s initial year. Cody Ramer’s Lady Eagles are slowly starting to come together as a team as more experience has come for them.
Rakaysha Triplett has been added to the mix after missing the first few games to go along with what’s been a great year already for Katrelya Pratt and Alexia Johnson. While Pratt and Johnson have been carrying the load, adding Pratt and getting more from a freshman like Caleesia Davis is making the team more complete.
“(Triplett has) had a slow start offensively, but she’s been playing really good defense. Katrelya Pratt has gained a lot of confidence at point guard and Alexia is really talented as well. My freshman Caleesia Davis is my best shooter and I told her that I wanted her to take more shots. We’re trying to work through her shot selection, and she’s been learning a lot. I don’t think people are seeing just how much she’s growing but she’s a really smart player and she’s going to give us a boost.”
The last time that this team played, it was an improvement from the week prior. Back on December 11 and 13, the Lady Eagles took on Winona and French Camp respectively and came away just short in single digit losses.
That followed up what was tough outcomes against Calhoun City and East Webster in 60-33 and 50-16 losses respectively. The measuring stick on how much that the Lady Eagles have improved will come into play this week. Eupora started Class 2A, Region 2 play on the road on Tuesday night against Calhoun City and they’ll make the drive over to Cumberland this week to take on the Lady Wolverines again.
This time, both games will count as district games.
“I knew we were going to be young last year and I had a tough schedule to help us grow,”Ramer said. “This week we have arguably two top 10 teams in 2A on our schedule so I’m hoping that we can do much better than we did the last time we played them. Playing these teams is helping my girls learn and grow so I’m excited.”
The boys will also try to put up a better showing from the first meeting with the Wildcats and the Wolverines. Eupora lost 72-58 to Calhoun City in the first game and 67-45 to East Webster. Burl’s team is looking for a win for the first time this season as they stand 0-8 to this point.
