In the last couple of years, a first half like the one that Eupora’s girls’ basketball team experienced would have spelled a district loss.
The Lady Eagles haven’t had the depth to overcome foul trouble but things are changing in year one under Cody Ramer. Eupora trailed Bruce 22-7at halftime of the game with a trio of starters on the bench. A strong second half finished reversed fortunes and they outscored the Lady Trojans 33-15 in the second half to get the big 40-37 victory on the road.
“We got in foul trouble and had two starters with three fouls and one with four in the first half. I had to go deep into the bench, ”Ramer said. “We weren’t really playing to our identity at halftime I pretty much told them that we weren’t playing how we play. We went back out there in the second half and outscored them by 18 in the second half.”
The Lady Eagles (7-5, 1-2 Class 2A, Region 2) were led in scoring by Alexia Johnson with 15 points and Nadia Coffey with 13 points.
It was the work of the bench that impressed Ramer during that stretch, though, as the Lady Eagles had to work around foul trouble. Players like Katrelya Pratt and Lucy Tulipan have been solid contributors for the team as it tries to build a solid foundation.
“The growth of the bench is a huge credit. Katrrelya Prattis a freshman and I have confidence to put her in the game. She has freshman mistakes, but she does a lot of positive things,” Ramer said. “Lucy started last year and she’s coming off the bench this year and hit a three for us. She was able to come in and play some defense.”
With one game to spare in Region 2 play against JZ George, the Lady Eagles will have a chance to get a No. 3 seed in the district tournament with a victory. That game was slated to take place last week but was postponed and has yet to be set.
The Eupora boys team fell to 0-6, lost 73-36 to the Trojans to remain winless on the season.
The two teams will play at Houston this week on Tuesday, travel to Calhoun City on Thursday for a non-district matchup and they’ll finish the week with a home game against Winona.
