FOND DU LAC, Wis. – Edgewood College head women's basketball coach Casey Plucinski finally got to see the team that she'd wanted to see all season. The Eagles shot the ball well, kept turnovers in check and spread the scoring all the way through the roster in a 75-52 defeat of Marian University in the Eagles' Northern Athletics Conference opener.
Two areas that plagued the Eagles in their first four non-conference games, shooting and turnovers, weren't much of a worry on Wednesday night. Edgewood College (1-4, 1-0 NAC) shot 45.5 percent in the first half, on their way to a season-best 40.8 percent. The Eagles more than doubled their season three-point total, hitting 9-for-22 from the three-point line. Edgewood College turned the ball over just seven times in the first half and only 15 for the game.
Chelsey Watkins broke a 6-6 tie with a layup and a three-point basket which sparked a 14-3 run. The Eagles maintained their lead until a key run at the end of the first half. After two Marian University (1-3, 0-2 NAC) free throws from Amelia Mirsberger cut the Eagles' lead to 29-25, Dareon Henderson scored an inside jumper, followed by a three-point basket fromBrooke Negus. After Negus's score Rachel Pope stripped Marian's Ashley Backus for a fastbreak layup. Pope then completed a 10-0 Eagles' run with another three-pointer to give Edgewood College a 39-25 halftime lead.
Marian had maintained the deficit trailing 50-35 with 14 minutes left to play, when Edgewood College pulled out the dagger with a 15-0 run. Kelsey Collins called and Negus drilled three-point baskets to get the streak started. Danielle Dixon scored a steal and a layup and Emily Anderson stuck a three-pointer from the top of the key to force a Sabre timeout. Melanie Walker and Alison Tobin finished off the run with layups for an insurmountable 65-35 lead with 8:45 left to play. Zoey Dougherty hit the Eagles' ninth and final three-point basket for their largest lead of the night at 75-44 with 2:09 to go. The Sabres scored the final eight points of the game as both teams cleared the benches.
Twelve different Eagles scored and seven different players hit a three-point basket in the game, led by Tobin's 14 points. Pope added a season-high 12 points, for the first double-digit scoring game of her career. Dixon had eight points and four assists, while Walker had a team-high 10 rebounds to go with four assists of her own. Edgewood College crushed Marian University on the glass, outrebounding the Sabres 55-31, including 23 offensive boards.
The Eagles should be full of confidence returning home on Saturday for the annual Jam the Gym celebration at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Edgewood College will face Aurora University at 2:00 p.m. The game can be seen live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.