The Eagles came into Monday nights’ GLIAC matchup with Lake Erie having won 12 out of their last 14 games.  The Eagles have been rolling over the competition and were looking to continue their dominant play when they took on the Lake Erie Storm, a GLIAC South Division rival. 

The Lake Erie Storm have not had the success the Eagles have had so far this season.   They came into Monday’s GLIAC Matchup having lost 9 out of their last ten games.  Monday night would be a continuation of their struggling play. 

The Eagles stormed out of the gate, forcing Lake Erie to call a timeout with only three minutes into the contest.  The Storm were down 8-2.  Their fast paced tenacity was felt on both the offensive and defensive end of the floor, as the Eagles forced 6 turnovers in the first six minutes of play.  The Eagles were hard to slow down Monday night and converted nearly every first half rebound into a fast break heading back the other way.  

Lake Erie changed their defensive scheme into a full court press with nearly 10 minutes left in the first half, something the Eagles were not affected by.  With great passing and defensive technique, the Eagles continued to dominate both ends of the floor, and stretched their lead to 25-7 with eight minutes to play in the first half. 

With a large lead in place, the Eagles went deep into their bench, even in the first half.  The bench continued their aggressive play, putting the Eagles up 41-8 at the break.  At the end of one, the Eagles had two players in double figures, Laina Snyder and Andi Daugherty both with 12.  

The second half opened up with a familiar scene from the first half.  The Eagles continued their fast-paced offensive action, by opening up the second half with quick passing and easy scores.  Three minutes into the second half, the score was 48-21.  

Snyder and Daugherty continued to lead the way for the Eagles, after ending the first half with 12 each.  Snyder came into Monday’s matchup averaging 13.2 points per game, while Daugherty averages 11.8 per game.  

Midway through the second half, the Eagles had yet to slow down.  Snyder and company continued to attack, putting up shot after shot and connecting.  The Eagles were up 58-32, with ten minutes to play.  The Eagles remained dominant on the glass, up 29-17 in the rebound column. 

With seven and half to play in the contest, Ramsey went deep into the bench, substituting her younger players into the game, in an effort to get them some play time they may not see otherwise.  Freshman Julie Worley and Maggie Mitchell, alongside sophomore Alex Henning, checked into the game for the first time.  They provided valuable minutes against the Storm, and continued the Eagle’s fast-paced offense.

At the final media timeout, the Eagles stayed with their bench, who now had the Eagles up 65-36.  Ramsey had high praise for freshman Julie Worley, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in only 13 minutes of action.  She checked out of the game with four and half minutes to play.  

When asked about Worley’s play, Ramsey was straight and to the point, “It starts in practice”, said Ramsey.  “Every day in practice, she works extremely hard to get better.  She’s a great player and came in with a freshman class that has a lot of talent.”

After the win, the Eagles record stands 15-6, 11-4 in conference play.  With this win over Lake Erie, the Women’s team have now won 13 out of their last 15, including six in a row.  In the GLIAC South Division standings, the Eagles are in second place, behind Wayne State.  The Lake Erie Storm have now lost ten out of their last 11.

Laina Snyder was the Eagles leading scorer on the night, scoring 20 points on eight of 11 shooting.  Ramsey had praise for Snyder’s performance noting that it was, “steady and consistent.” 

“The stat sheets don’t always show everything she does, she was our leading scorer with 20 points on eight for 11, and four for four from free throw,” said Ramsey.

Ramsey also said Snyder’s defensive performance.  “I thought she did a tremendous job defensively, of anticipating and preventing their big kids from getting a lot of good looks.”

She noted the great play and Andi Daugherty as well, who ended the night with 14 points.  Snyder and Daugherty have proven time and time again how important they are to this Eagles squad who relies heavily on what Ramsey calls her “tremendous freshman class.”