The back-loaded, reconfigured, road schedule for the Hennessey Eagles and Lady Eagles has proven to be a tough hill to climb, and this week off to a tough start, with the Ladies dropping their 3rd straight game and the Boys now experiencing their 1st losing streak of the season, with 2 consecutive losses to ranked opponents. In a make-up game due to a Covid postponement earlier in the month, HHS travelled to Cashion Thursday night, (February 4th) with the Lady Eagles falling to the Lady Wildcats 61-40, and the Eagles losing to the Wildcats 43-34, for their second loss this season to their cross-county rival.The Lady Eagles (5-8) won the tip but failed to score on their opening possession, and after Cashion (15-5, 2A #13) hit a 3 on their first attempt, the 2 teams saw 5 ties or lead changes in the first half of the opening quarter. The game quickly changed with the Lady Wildcats going on a 14-0 run and closing the opening frame with a 17-2 curbing of the Lady Eagles. Hennessey never threatened over the next 3 quarters, trailing by as many as 26 mid-way through the 4th, before finishing 40-61. Senior Gracie Mills led the Ladies in scoring with 8 points, pulling down 2 rebounds. Larissa Macy followed with 6 points, off 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. Kassidy Amburn nailed a 3 to tie the game early, but finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. Noelle Pollard added 5 points as well, with a team-high 6 rebounds, to go along with 1 steal, and 1 assist. Harlee Dowell came off the bench to score 4, going 4 of 6 from the free-throw line, with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal defensively. Also off the bench, Yuridia Rios had 3 points, with Kadee Meeker and Hunter Miller getting 2 each.The road trip does not get any easier for the Lady Eagles, as they travel to Perry to play the Lady Maroons (14-4, 3A #13) on Friday night, tipping at 6:30 pm.Any coach will tell you the keys to defeating a quality opponent is to “get off to a good start, make the easy baskets, including free-throws, winning the rebound margin, and second chance points.” Well, for the Hennessey Eagles (10-3, 2A #6) versus the Cashion Wildcats (17-3, 2A #4) on Thursday night, their response to those keys were, “nope, nope, nope, nope, and … nope.” The Wildcats started the game with a 7-0 run and never trailed. The Eagles shot 42% from the free-throw line in the first half, going 5 for 12 through two quarters, and then only having 2 attempts total in the 2nd half. Coming out of the halftime break, needing to make a run, those plans were quickly thwarted with Cashion beginning the 3rd quarter on an 8-0 run, not allowing a Hennessey score until the 4:10 mark, and subsequently putting the proverbial nail in the Eagle coffin. After being out-rebounded 27-17, Coach Page had seen enough, waving the flag by pulling the starters with just under 2 minutes remaining. Freshman Jael Torres led the Eagles with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. Senior Point Guard Wade Vinson followed with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and 1 steal. Cristian Rodriguez and Layton Choate each had 1 made 3, with Noah Moery, Seth Simunek, and Juan Dominguez with 2 points each. With that game in the rearview mirror, the Eagles now prep for another road game Friday evening at the Perry Maroons (10-8, 3A), and look forward to perhaps getting another opportunity this season to take down the Cashion Wildcats. That next opportunity? Maybe, just maybe – Jim Norick Oklahoma State Fair Park Arena for the Class 2A State Championship. We shall see. –EagleVoice – Photos by Patrick Courtney
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