Girls Basketball Falls To Montgomery, 44-21

In their season opener, the Lady Eagles basketball team fell at home to Montgomery County, losing 44-21 on Friday, Nov. 17. They had previously competed in the Washington Jamboree two days earlier to shake off the rust.

This is the second year in a row that Sullivan has played the Wildcats for the first game of the season. The Lady Eagles hoped to seek redemption against Montgomery as they had lost to them in 2022. Sullivan were also aiming to start their season on a high note before Fall Break.

But, once the spotlights came on, they quickly realized that their season opener would not be a walk-through. After just 4 minutes, head coach Jordan Flora called a timeout as the Wildcats already had 10 points on the scoreboard while the Lady Eagles had none. With fouls taking away key scoring opportunities, Sullivan knew they had to rally back and overcome their errors to stay in the game.

Guard Molly Lohden marked Sullivan’s first point on a free throw, bringing the score to 10-1 and earning cheers from her team. Guard Karlee Head later executed two free throws, narrowing Montgomery County’s lead to 8 points.

Sullivan picked up one more score before the end of the 1st quarter when forward Rayna Claus made a free throw after capitalizing on a personal foul, bringing the score to 15-4.

Early in the second quarter, the Wildcats quickly gained 4 points and Sullivan continued to fall behind again with their dribbles being disrupted by the Wildcats. Flora called a timeout to huddle up the team and to get both sides of the ball to step up.

Sullivan’s defense did just that and prevented the Wildcats from scoring for the next few minutes, but the Lady Eagles still couldn’t execute a goal.

With less than 2 minutes left in the first half, pressure mounted on Sullivan once again to be more aggressive on shooting. Claus took the initiative and netted a field goal despite the Wildcats’ attempts to claw the ball away from her. It wasn’t long until Montgomery County quickly responded with three points of their own, making it 22-17.

Sullivan ended the 1st half trailing by 15 points due to fouls, but despite their missed opportunities, they were determined to fight back.

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