Eddies fall to St. Joseph

Published 12:18 am Thursday, January 10, 2008

By By DON EDEN / Edwardsburg Argus
ST. JOSEPH – An even match-up record-wise between host St. Joseph and visiting Edwardsburg in girls' hoop Tuesday evening proved uneven as the Bears clawed the Eddies 65-46.
"St. Joe is better than their record and we came out and played well in the first quarter," Eddies mentor Diane Robertson said.
Conforming to the records was the initial stanza, where neither squad had more than a duece lead with senior Emily Laukus rebounding a missed teammate's shot to score at the buzzer to knot the game at 14-14.
After missing the first eight games of the season with a shoulder injury, Laukus, along with junior Kayla Mahler and freshman Katie Mauis, dominated the visitors during the next eight minutes.
The Lady Bears scored 20 points in the second stanza compared to a lonely free throw by Edwardsburg senior Lindsay Harroff was all the Lady Eddies could muster.
Harroff was the leading scorer with five at intermission, while St. Joe went to their den with a 34-15 advantage.
Mahler led the Bears with nine tallies, while Laukus and Mauis scored eight and seven respectively.
"We looked tired in the second quarter and ran out of gas," Robertson stated afterward. "They changed defenses on us and we just stopped shooting the ball because of it."
"This was a break out game for Mahler, who helped her offense with quickness defensively and Laukus is quick with her feet to position herself well," St. Joseph coach Jeff Wallace said. "It absolutely always is good to get a win and we played hard from start to finish, stressing good decisions with a young team to gain confidence."
Edwardsburg did manage to close the margin to 37-28 in the third quarter, but the Bears finished the stanza with seven unanswered points.
The second half witnessed a practice of free throws at St. Joe made 16-of-25 attempts and the Eddies connected on a baker's dozen (13) in five less tries.
Mahler finished the contest with 19 points and Laukus reached a double-double with 10 tallies and a dozen rebounds.
Junior Christina Hans scored all 11 of her points in the final quarter to top the Eddies, with senior Stephanie Koontz also reaching double figures with 10.
"Hans had one of her better games by taking the ball inside and getting to the free throw line," Robertson said. "We definitely need to get a win."
A victory is possible Thursday as Edwardsburg hosts winless conference rival Coloma.
The junior varsity game also ended in St. Joseph's favor, 31-17.
Freshman Alesya Schalk scored nine points in the victory, while sophomore Erin Burks matched the leader in defeat.