Fast start lifts Eaton over Franklin

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FRANKLIN — Eaton used a 20-5 first quarter to sprint past host Franklin 62-48 in a Southwestern Buckeye League girls basketball crossover game on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

With the win Eaton improved to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the SWBL.

“We often talk about start fast, finish strong,” Eaton coach Dave Honhart said. “This game was a case of a fast start putting us in a good position throughout the game. We had several really nice runs in the first quarter and third quarter that helped us keep some distance between us and Franklin. Franklin has some players who are significantly improved in (Sophia) Aldridge, (Lexi) Blevins, and (Addie) Berry, and they play extremely hard.”

Franklin didn’t go away without a fight though.

The Wildcats closed to within 29-23 by halftime, but Eaton outscored the host team 33-25 in the second half to hold on for the win.

“As for us, I feel like we are getting better every day. Due to injuries and illnesses, we just haven’t had that many practices with all of our best players playing together,” Honhart said. “It takes time to build chemistry on the court, and we’re maybe a little bit behind where we’d normally be at this point in that regard.”

Eaton was led by senior Lily Shepherd’s 24 points and seven rebounds.

Senior Kendall Miller added 11 point and five rebounds, while senior Olivia Baumann added five points, three steals and led the team with 10 rebounds.

Freshman point guard Tai Mize added six points and three assists.

Sophomore Olivia Orr contributed seven points and seven rebounds and freshman Emilee Hargis had six points and four rebounds.

“I thought we did a really nice job sharing the ball throughout the second half,” Honhart said. “Tai Mize made some significant strides between her first and second games, Lily Shepherd continues to find ways to put up points for us, and Liv Baumann had another strong game on the boards.”

Eaton was scheduled to go on the road to meet league power Bellbrook on Monday, Nov. 28. Both teams entered the game with 2-0 records.

Eaton will then host Waynesville on Thursday, Dec. 1 in another key SWBL contest.

“Bellbrook and Waynesville look to once again be two of the strongest teams in the league. I’m excited to see how we stack up against both of them,” Honhart said. “Having games like that early on are also great for revealing what you really need to work on as a team, so I really like the way our schedule sets up.”

Honart said is hoping to have a significant home court advantage against Waynesville.

“We had a great home crowd for our opener against Greenville. We’d love to see the placed packed with Purple when Waynesville comes to town on Thursday,” he said.

By Eddie Mowen Jr.

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Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on Twitter @emowenjr

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