EATON — After suffering through four straight losses to teams with a combined 54-14 record, Eaton’s girls’ basketball team turned in what coach Dave Honhart called a “gutty and gritty” performance to snap that losing streak.
Eaton got off to a quick 8-2 lead and never looked back as they knocked off visiting Carlisle 43-29 on Saturday, Jan. 22.
The win came after a pair of losses earlier in the week, 68-26 to Arcanum (16-1) on Monday, Jan. 17 and 51-30 at Oakwood (13-4) on Thursday.
“This was as gutty and gritty a win as I’ve been a part of for a while,” Honhart said. “Our players did exactly what we challenged them to do. They played with the effort, fire and teamwork we saw emerging on Thursday. We talked about gang rebounding and executing the game plan at both ends. They did both of those things extremely well.”
Honhart said he challenged senior point guard Allison Mowen to be more vocal.
“I challenged my four-year quarterback (and two-year captain), Ali Mowen to use her voice more and hunt paint more. She did both. Olivia Orr was a force for us with a career high 14 points. We had nice scoring balance as Lily Shepherd had 12 points on great shot selection and Allison Mowen had eight,” Honhart said. “No matter how many points they scored, this was a total team and program win. I also want to shout out our JV team. We only had 11 healthy, available players on the day. We talked about getting two wins with limited subs, and we did exactly that. Gracie Copper, Addison Campbell, Charlee Ruebush, and Kurstyn Pitsinger played the entire JV game without a minute of rest and helped deliver a convincing win.”
Kyla Mize and Kendall Miller each played a key role on the defensive end for the Eagles.
Eaton led 12-4 after the first quarter and extended its lead to 25-10 at the half. The Eagles led 35-19 after three.
Orr finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
Mowen added five assists and three steals and Shepherd added three rebounds and two steals.
Against Arcanum, Eaton had no answer for the Trojans post player Taylor Gray, who scored 31 points and had 11 rebounds.
“This was our first game knowing we would not have Olivia Baumann,” Honhart said of his 5-10 post player. “Arcanum is really really good and led by some outstanding seniors. We actually played pretty well for the first 12 minutes. When they pulled away late in the second quarter, we simply struggled to respond. That is a team that has a chance at a deep playoff run. They are very well coached and we wish them lots of luck.”
Mowen led the Eagles with 10 points, two rebounds and two assists. Caroline Miller added four points and two rebounds.
Against Oakwood, the Eagles shot just 23.4 percent from the field, making just 11-of-47 shot attempts.
”They are an extremely balanced team that plays extremely hard. We said our defensive keys were to eliminate their catch-and-shoots, force left-handed dribbles and take away passes to the backside block,” Honhart said. “On offense we talked about being strong with the ball and attacking the rim for strong layups and kick out threes. In the first half we were not able to do any of those things. It felt like we were playing in slow motion. In the locker room at halftime, everyone challenged each other to step up at both ends of the floor. Our players did exactly that. They found a level of fire, effort and teamwork that was dramatically different than the first half. It showed impressive pride and resiliency. It was something to build on. But I told them after the game, it only mattered if we were able to carry it into Friday’s practice, Saturday’s Shoot Around and all 32 minutes of Saturday’s game.”
Anna Kramer led the Eagles with seven points and five rebounds. Shepherd added six points and four steals. Orr added six rebounds.
”The future is bright as long as our players buy in to putting in the time in the off season to get better. With improvement, it takes what it takes,” Honhart said. “If you want to be a great ball handler, you’ve got to work on your ball handling on a regular basis, with and without a defender. There is no shortcut to the fact that if you want to be a great shooter, you’ve gotta get up tens of thousands of shots in the off-season. While that sounds overwhelming, it’s really not. Twenty minutes of focused shooting a day with a rebounder, five days a week, can get a player about 35,000 shots between now and the start of next season. I’m excited to see who embraces the challenge.”
Eaton (7-11, 5-6 SWBL) was scheduled to play Talawanda on Monday, Jan. 24 and will travel to Brookville on Saturday.
Mowen reaches Milestone
Senior guard Allison Mowen became just the second player in Eaton girls’ basketball history to record 300 career assists, reaching the achievement in a game at Valley View on Saturday, Jan. 15. She was presented the game ball prior to the Eagles home game with Arcanum on Tuesday, Jan. 18.
Mowen is beleived to be just the fourth girl in Preble County basketball history to hit the mark, joining National Trail’s Chris Hampton (342 from 1993-1997), Twin Valley South’s Adelee Gates (304 from 2007-2011) and Eaton’s Autumn Whirley (332 from 2012-2015).
“We often celebrate one thousand point scorers, but I would say that three hundred assists is just as significant, and probably more rare,” Honhart said. “I am incredibly happy for Ali to earn this accomplishment. She is one of the most unselfish, talented players I have ever coached. Each year she has improved her floor vision and passing, along with her ability to run a team.
“There is a reason that multiple colleges are chasing her, trying to get her to play for them next year. What’s so cool about any sort of assist mark is that in and of itself, it represents team basketball. The passer only gets the assist when their teammate makes the shot. Ali is a great player and a better person.
“We held a surprise recognition for her on Tuesday night before the start of our game against Arcanum. Ali is not someone who seeks attention, but it was great to see the smile on her face when she realized what was happening. Also, I’d like to thank Valley View coach Steve Dickson for giving her the game ball and helping get it to us quickly. That was a class move by a classy colleague. Now we look forward to trying to get Ali another 33 assists so she can set the all time mark. Autumn was an incredible player, but records are made to be broken.”
