If there is anything to be taken away from the Lady Eagles’ opener against Salem on Dec. 3, it is that there will be growing pains.
Opening up a new season one year after a run to the quarterfinals, Sullivan fell to the Lady Tigers, 41-28, with a mostly inexperienced roster. Chelsea Strauser and Jessie Landwehr were the only upperclassmen to get minutes in the game.
The game flip-flopped in each of the quarters. Sullivan jumped out to an 11-3 lead after the first quarter, only to watch it disappear in the second quarter. The Lady Eagles scored just two points and trailed 20-13 at halftime.
But the situation was reversed in the third quarter, with Sullivan outscoring Salem, 11-7, and cutting the deficit to 27-24 heading to the fourth.
Salem gained the upper hand and outscored the Lady Eagles, 14-4.
Sullivan shot just 22 percent for the game and launched 21 three-point attempts, hitting just four of them. The Lady Eagles were a perfect 4-4 at the free-throw line.
Freshman Sierra Fuchs led Sullivan with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jessica Heinle and Strauser each had eight points. Strauser had five rebounds and four steals.
Demi Reed scored the other two points. Landwehr and Olivia Louderman did not score, but Landwehr had five rebounds while Louderman had one.
Rachel Sirois hit four three-pointers and finished with 14 points for Salem. Sullivan’s opening game was just the first of a difficult stretch to the young season. The Lady Eagles played their first four games away, which included trips to Waynesville, Festus and Farmington before hosting Pacific on Monday night.