While most students were heading home for winter break in mid-December, the EU women’s basketball team was preparing for several tournaments that would take place between semesters. Going into the break, EUWB stood with a solid record of 6-1, including big wins over Messiah College and Wilkes University. During the first tournament of winter break, however, things started to get a bit tougher for the Eagles.
In the Hilton Scranton Poinsettia Classic (Dec. 15-16), the Eagles easily secured a win over Farmingdale State College with a final score of 91-59. EU showed great team unity as each of the 10 women on the roster managed to put some points on the board, and junior point guard Emily McPeak was able to dish out 7 assists. As a team, the Eagles shot 75% from the free throw line, making 12 out of 16 attempts. However, the Eagles faced a tough loss against Scranton University, who is now ranked #5 in the nation. With a final score of 81-58, the Eagles were unable to take back control. EU gave up 17 turnovers by the end of the game, and Scranton was able to score 26 of their points off of those turnovers.
EUWB’s bad luck trickled over into the second tournament of the holiday season, the Cabrini College Classic (Dec. 30-31). In the first matchup against Rowan University, the Eagles lost with a score of 74-65. Even so, EU sophomore Taylor Price was able to put up 19 points and pull down 10 rebounds, while junior Emily Lavin scored 15 points and added another 11 rebounds. In the following game against Widener University, EU suffered another 9 point loss with a final score of 79-70. With Lavin out due to injury, others were forced to step up and fill the void. Freshman Regie Robinson finished with 18 total points, followed closely behind by sophomore Amanda Riiff with 16 points.
In the Gettysburg Invitational (Jan. 3-4), the Eagles managed to get back on their feet for a while. EU started the tournament with a close win over Mount Aloysius College with a score of 63-57. Price led the Eagles with 16 points while sophomore Taylor Azer followed up with 15. The following day, the Eagles matched up against Gettysburg College with head coach Nate Davis, former head coach of the Eagles. EU lost by a score of 73-57 and allowed the Bullets to score 42 of their points in the paint
Following the break, the Eagles entered conference play where they fell to FDU-Florham (Jan. 13), Kings College (Jan. 16), and Manhattanville College (Jan. 20). This frustrating losing streak has left EUWB with a conference record of 2-3 and an overall record of 8-8. Luckily, the Eagles will continue conference play through January and February, in which they will match up with each team in the conference at least once more.