EATON — Eaton’s girls basketball team shot nearly 50 percent from the field and forced National Trail into 30 turnovers in en route to a 57-39 win on Saturday, Dec. 29.
The Eagles overcame a slow start, falling behind 5-0, before grabbing the lead for good early in the second quarter.
Eaton, now 4-7, was led by junior Bailey Shepherd’s 24 points. Shepherd scored 18 after the intermission. She also grabbed nine rebounds and had four steals.
Junior Ashley Earley scored 10 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Trail (6-5) was paced by freshman Skyler Ward’s 14 points.
The win snapped a five-game losing skid for Eaton, while extending Trail’s losing streak to three. The Blazers also fell to Arcanum and Bradford prior to Christmas.
The Blazers held a 9-7 lead after the first quarter, but Eaton opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run behind Earley and Shepherd to grab a 13-9 lead. The Eagles extended their lead to 20-13 on a 3-pointer from Becca Mowen, a basket by Emily Dungan and another by Earley.
Trail got a free throw and basket from Evan Byrd to make it a 22-16 game at the half.
Eaton, though, gained control of the game in the third quarter as Trail committed turnovers on four of its first five possessions.
The Eagles used an 11-0 run to begin the quarter to take a 33-16 lead. The Blazers got as close as eight, 43-35, with 36 seconds left in the quarter, thanks in part to making seven straight shots.
Eaton entered the fourth quarter with a 45-35 lead.
They held Trail to just four points over the final eight minutes, while forcing nine turnovers. For the quarter, Trail was just 2-of-9 from the field.
For the game, Eaton was 25-of-54 from the field and held a 37-17 rebounding edge. Trail made 16-of-43 shot attempts.
Dungan finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Becca Mowen scored six and had four rebounds and four steals. Lexi Miller and Annika Gels each scored four. Miller had four rebounds, while Gels had three and two assists.
Allison Mowen lead the Eagles with five assists.
In addition to Ward’s 14 points, Evan Byrd scored nine and junior Davlyn Warner added nine, with seven coming in the second half, for Trail.
Eaton is scheduled to host Brookville on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, and will entertain Hamilton Ross on Saturday, Jan, 5.
Trail is scheduled to play at Carlisle on Monday, Jan. 7 and at Mississinawa Valley on Jan. 10. They will close the week out by hosting Newton on Saturday, Jan. 12.
