Lady Bears defend home court against Lady Eagles

The English Valleys girls' basketball team got a big home win against Keota on January 23, rebounding from a tough loss against Sigourney a few days prior. Audrey Grove poured in 20 points en-route to a 49-21 win and put the Lady Bears back over .500 on the season.

Points were hard to come by for either team, as defense was on display early on. E.V. was hoping to use its size as an advantage, but were having trouble getting the ball down to the post. Finally, Grove broke through with a made shot in the paint and soon after, knocked down a shot from behind the arc. The Lady Bears put up seven points in the first quarter, five coming from Grove, while the defense kept Keota off the scoreboard.

English Valleys was able to continue finding some success from behind the arc, which made Keota space out their defense more. On the other end of the floor, the Lady Eagles managed to crack the bigger and more physical E.V. defense, which led to some open shots. At the half, the Lady Bears held onto an 18-10 lead.

"We were playing complacent and not aggressive, waiting for the ball to come to us," Lady Bears coach Becky Becker said. "I challenged them to get 30 points in the second half. We had to understand it's a matter of tempo versus pace."

The Lady Bears started out the second half with much better success, as they were able to get the ball down to their post players and attack the basket. Some points came from the transition game, as a result of a missed Keota shot or a turnover. The defense held their ground as well, with a majority of Keota’s points coming from the free throw line.

Though Keota was able to keep a tight defense going throughout the second half, the ball movement from the Lady Bears resulted in multiple chances from three. The reserves were able to get some playing time in the middle of the final quarter, and they continued to play tough defense. Some more quick ball movement and unselfish passes allowed open Bears to get the ball and find the basket.

"We got up and down the floor and scored in transition, that was huge for us," Becker said. "We gave up too many interior shots in the first half, and we took care of the interior in the second half. The group on the floor at the end of the game played the best they ever had, and I commended them for that."

Grove led all scorers with 20 points, including four of five from three, making each shot look effortless. She also had six assists, four rebounds and one steal. Madison Trimpe put up double-figures with 11 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, assisted on one score and posted one block. Ellie Ayers had a night consisting of seven points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.

The Lady Bears were hoping to get a second-straight win in their last home game against Belle Plaine on January 26.