This past Friday, the Eagan girls basketball team took on the Lakeville North Panthers at a home game. The Wildcats started the game with forwards Delaney Clayton, Captain Lauren Boike, Captain Mckenna Miller, and guards Taylor Grebin and Hannah Lamkin. The girls ultimately lost the face off, putting the ball in the Panthers’ hand. The Panthers used this to their advantage, scoring their first three points within ten seconds. As the game continued, the Wildcats had a rough time getting the ball out the Panthers’ hands. When the girls were able to get the ball into their own hands, the hoop seemed to be their enemy. Captain Alex Jagler said that to improve their offense they should, “look more to score rather than to pass.” By the time Lamkin, scored their first two points in a freethrow, the Wildcats were already down 13. Shortly after Miller, scored making the score 4 – 14. It wasn’t until the second quarter though when things started to pick up for the Wildcats. The half ended with Clayton, Lauren Slawin, Jocelyn Plonski, and Miller all scoring. However, the Panthers continued to keep up their strong offense and the period ended 17-35.

The Eagan girls returned for the second half of the game on the edge of their seats, ready for redemption. The half started with Wildcats having possession. The girls on the bench were consistently cheering for their teammates. When subs went in the girls on bench would stand for their fellow teammates coming in, giving them high fives and pats on the back. In fact Jagler said, “The bench’s attitude was really good and was fun to be a part of,” when asked about a highlight of the game.

Unfortunately our girls wouldn’t gain redemption with the second half almost mimicking the first half, with Eagan once again struggling against the Panthers. Slawin scored three out of the six points in the third quarter. Clayton scored the first three pointer of the night. Lakeville scored a total of eighteen points, four of them from free throws. In the fourth quarter things picked up once again. Chloe Miller, Boike, Jess Van Wyk, and Lily Fandre all scored their first points of the nights. Clayton and Lamkin also scored, making a total of 18 points scored between the six girls. Lakeville only scored eleven points, the lowest amount of points they scored in a quarter. The game ended with Eagan losing by slightly under half, the final score 41- 64. After their loss, none of the girls showed any signs of bad sportsmanship. Instead they held their heads high and congratulated the Panthers on their win.