By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
PEMBERVILLE — In the first quarter, Murphy’s Law — which states that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong” — was in effect for Eastwood in the first quarter as it fell behind early and was never able to seriously threaten, falling, 40-32, to Maumee in Northern Buckeye Conference action Thursday.
In the game’s first eight minutes, Maumee guard Lucy Porter scored 12 of her game-high 22 points, sparking the Panthers (8-5, 5-3 NBC) as they scored the game’s first 13 points, and held to an 18-5 lead after one quarter.
The Eagles (8-5, 6-2) outscored Maumee, 27-22, in the last three quarters, which were a defensive struggle, but couldn’t cut the deficit closer than six points.
Eastwood guard Kayla Buehler, who had a team-high 18 points, hit a three-pointer with 2:52 to play to get the Eagles within six points at 35-29, but Maumee’s Taylor Smith hit a triple to answer 26 seconds later, effectively putting the game out of reach and pushing the lead to nine.
Eastwood coach Brittany Butler said her team’s slow start and Porter’s stellar play contributed to the loss.
“We dug ourselves in a hole. Offensively, it was not our night,” she said. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t go your way. We had 19 turnovers. We turned it on after the first half, but it was (too late).
“Our kids fought, (but) we just waited too long. I thought we got good looks, it just didn’t bounce our way. Porter had a really good shooting night. She’s a great player.”
Trailing 31-17 late in the third quarter and facing its largest deficit, Eastwood scored the final eight points of the quarter as Buehler hit two threes, one just before the buzzer, and Paige Hoodlebrink made two free throws, to cut the deficit to six points.
The Eagles were able to force turnovers, but it wasn’t enough as the Panthers seemed to have an answer for everything. It is the fourth consecutive loss for the Eagles, which follows an eight-game winning streak.
“I think any loss hurts, the league games are tough. You realize you have to regroup,” said Butler. “In the last few games, we lacked energy a little bit.
“We have to find a way to get back to our game offensively. Our poor decisions and lackadaisical passes are leading to turnovers.”
Butler had high praise for Buehler, who scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half.
“She’s a phenomenal player,” Butler said. “It was not her best first half offensively. Sometimes scorers can get down if they’re not making shots. She fought through it and looked to get some shots.”
Maumee coach Rafael Soler said it was a feat for her club to hold Eastwood to just 32 points.
“I think we played really good team defense. We did a good job with our assignments,” said Soler. “Something that we focused on was their shooters and driving to the basket. It’s a testament to the scouting our (assistant) coaches did.”
As you’d expect, Soler was pleased with Porter’s play.
“When she gets hot, she can hit any shot. We’re trying to get her open and other people open,” Soler said. “It’s starting to come together. She’s just worked so hard, and I’m so glad to see her out there succeeding.”
Eastwood is now in a three-way tie atop the Northern Buckeye Conference with Genoa (7-4, 6-2) and Oak Harbor (9-3, 6-2).
