East Prairie girls close week with two wins

By Kayleigh Rahn
Monday, Sept. 24
Seventh Grade
Charleston- 31; EP-20
The seventh grade girls’ basketball team fell 31-20 to a tough defense in Charleston

“We had a slow start,” Coach Beth Pugh said. “Still having trouble getting back on defense. We came up against a defense we have not seen before this year and had to make some adjustments. Again the girls did not give up and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.”

Zoey Thomason and Marissa Boyer posted six points each, while Sydney Moss and Emily Czerwonka added four apiece.

Eighth Grade
Charleston-47; EP-20
The eighth grade girls never recovered from a slow first quarter and in the end Charleston came out on top 47-20.

Marley Good led the team with 10 points, Ella Boyer added six, Claire Meyer had three, and Izzy Wilcox hit one free throw.

“We did have three or four really good looks in the beginning of the game and did not convert on any of them,” Pugh said. “The eighth grade also went against a defense that we had not seen yet this year and had trouble getting into our offense. I told the girls not to be discouraged and to learn from this game.”

Tuesday, Sept. 25
Seventh Grade
EP-36: OV-27
One night later the seventh grade Lady Hornets bounced back for a conference win over Okaw Valley 36-27.

“The seventh grade played better against Okaw Valley,” Pugh said. “We played very good at times, and then we would let them back in the game. I told the girls to try and be more aggressive and not worry about mistakes.”

Moss came out big for the team with 21 points, accounting for 6 of the 8 Lady Hornet points in the first quarter alone.

“Sydney Moss is really showing a lot of potential,” Pugh said.

Thomason had a steady game with seven points, Czerwonka put together six, and M. Boyer added two.

Eighth Grade
EP-41; OV-19
The eight grade girls came out strong with a 16-point first quarter against Okaw Valley, who would never recover. The girls in black and gold came out with the win 41-19.

“We saw the open player much better, and made Okaw Valley turn the ball over,” Pugh said. “We were able to convert on their turn overs.”

1. Boyer found her rhythm early with a 20-point game, and Good contributed nine. Mia Hausmann, Harley Woodard, and Molly Macaulay tallied four each.

Thursday, Sept. 27
Seventh Grade
EP-20; Edison-16
It one of their most physical contest yet, the seventh grade girls topped Champaign Edison 20-16.

Moss put together nine points in the second half alone, while Czerwonka hit five. Thomason tallied three points, M. Boyer had two, and Lauren Woods added one.

Eighth Grade
EP-33; Edison-26
The eight grade girls were able to jump ahead of Champaign Edison early to collect another win 33-26.

Boyer put together 14 points, and Meyer contributed seven. Good and Wilcox tallied five apiece, and Woodard added two points.

“Both the seventh and eighth grade games were very physical,” Pugh said. “These early games are helping us know what we need to work on.”