Eagles bag confidence-boosterFlor leads girls to first victory

By DOUG MONSON

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- For a team searching for its first win of the season, Thursday's matchup against Blue Earth couldn't have come at a better time. The New Ulm Eagles busted out of its winless streak by toppling Blue Earth 66-52.

The game started quickly with the Eagles' Angie Flor taking a Megan Hauge pass and sinking a trey to open the scoring. The Bucs battled back, however, taking a 4-3 lead behind the shooting of Amy Slama.

The Bucs extended their lead to 8-5 before the Eagles would mount a rally behind a steal by Coresa Leighty at mid-court. Leighty raced the distance and laid the ball in for an easy two, giving the Eagles a 9-8 lead.

Once again the Bucs took the lead 17-13 before a Leighty turnaround hook-shot cut the lead to two.

The quarter would end on a sour note for the Eagles as the Bucs' Allison Haase took a swing pass from Samantha Lewis and drained a 3-pointer. Haase then stole the inbounds pass and laid the ball in for a five-point swing, giving the Bucs a 24-15 lead.

The basket led to a New Ulm timeout, which still couldn't slow Haase down as she hit a jumper inside the arc on the next Bucs' possession, extending her run to 7-0.

"We've been having trouble with somebody taking leadership or stepping up," Flor said of the team's season. But in the second quarter, Flor and sophomore Kelly Hammerschmidt would fight for the honors of team leader.

Trailing 26-17 to start the second quarter, Hammerschmidt took control inside, netting six of her 10 first-half points. Flor added nine points in the second quarter and Megan Oberle took control of the rebounding duties with six second-quarter rebounds.

Eagles coach Brad Metter said one of the things his team has been working on is rebounding.

"This is one of the few teams we have a height advantage on," Metter said.

He said Oberle provided the Eagles with an aggressiveness that helped them control the boards.

"She's such an aggressive player," he said. "She's one of those kids who's always going, whether it's on the floor or off the floor.

Trailing 24-28 in the second quarter, Oberle grabbed an offensive rebound and put back the shot. She missed but Flor was there to put back the shot. She missed as well, setting Hammerschmidt up for two of her seven first-half offensive rebounds. She put the second shot back, cutting the lead to 28-26.

On the Eagles next possession, Hammerschmidt cut a double team near the arc and drove to the basket for two, tying the score at 28. The Bucs would charge back to take a 30-28 lead, but it would be the last time the Eagles would trail, regaining the lead on an Oberle to Alex Harsha pass that resulted in a foul and a three-point play. The Eagles extended the lead to 37-32 at the half.

Metter said he felt the win was a huge one for the Eagles who picked up their first South Central conference win of the year.

"We needed to get a win just so the girls knew that was a possibility for them," he said.

Flor echoed the comment.

"We proved to ourselves and our fans we can do it," she said.

Hammerschmidt, who continued to dominate in the second half, finished the night with 16 points and 14 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive end, and four blocked shots.

"Inexperience has hurt us," she said. "Coach has been naggin' on me to go inside more."

For her efforts inside, and for Flor's performance on the court, he said he was proud of them. Metter said all his girls came out with aggressiveness and intensity and played as a team, which helped them build confidence throughout the game.

"You could just kind of see it snowball," he said.

Flor finished the night with 23 points and 13 rebounds. She also finished with five assists and two steals.

The Bucs Haase finished with 15 points while Beth Fuchs chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Bucs 48-33, but turned the ball over more with 22 to the Bucs 18.

The loss drops the Bucs to 1-9 on the year and 0-5 in the conference. The win improves the Eagles to 1-9 on the year and 1-4 in conference play.

The Eagles play next Saturday versus Sibley East at home. The B-squad starts at 1 p.m. and the varsity will follow.

In B-squad action, the Eagles fell to the Bucs 38-31 while the C-squad picked up a 36-22 win.