Ben Martin – Sports Writer
Drip, Drop, Drip, Drop. The university’s Women’s basketball team started Friday’s game in a way that was not expected: a rain delay caused by a leak in the roof of the Moore Field House.
After the rain problem was taken care of, the Owls picked up their first win of the season against the Georgian Court University Lions 70-55 on Friday in their opening matchup of the season.
“We are excited,” guard Delaney Connors, a graduate student, said. “We are just happy to be here, we are happy to play at home, just ready to play.”
Along with Connors, guard Zoë Amalbert, a graduate student, was happy with the game.
“I’m glad we got the win,” Owls’ guard Zoë Amalbert said. “I think we came out strong in the second quarter to open the lead.”
Coming into the second quarter, the Lions held a one-point lead; however, by the end of it the Owls would hold the lead. The Owls outscored the Lions by five in the second quarter, 16-11, with seven of their 16 points coming from Connors. Connors would finish the game with 12 points, four assists and seven rebounds.
“I think I did well, but there’s a lot to do,” Connors said. “It’s a long season, so we have a lot to work on personally and as a team.”
After the second quarter, the Owls outscored the Lions in the third quarter 21-13 in the third quarter with six points coming from forward Ashley Evans, a junior. Evans would finish the game with 12 points, tied with Connors for second most on the team in Friday’s matchup. Additionally, Evans added three rebounds.
“I had a lot of excitement going into this game as it was my first game as an Owl,” Evans, a transfer from Lafayette College said. “I did a few things well but there are still improvements I need to make on defense and staying out of foul trouble.”
Evans ended the game with three fouls, and the Owls as a team finished the game with 21 fouls.
Along with Connors and Evans scoring 12 a piece, Amalbert led the scoring attack for the Owls with 17 points. Also, she added six assists and five rebounds.
“I did pretty well,” Amalbert said. “In the first half I was struggling a little to put the ball in the basket, but I came back in the second half and stayed calm and played my game.”
In the fourth quarter, the Owls outscored the Lions 19-16 which was a drop- off from the second and third quarters.
“You just have to work hard the whole 40 minutes,” Connors said. “We cannot drop the energy; it has to be consistent the entire game.”
Along with playing all 40 minutes, the Owls had 21 turnovers which was a problem according to Evans. Evans’ also added that the team’s offense needs to flow better.
Along with Connors and Evans, Amalbert sees some improvements that need to be made over the course of the season.
“We have to keep getting better every day and focus on the little things,” Amalbert said. “Playing defense, getting out in transition and learning where people are open and get comfortable with each other.”
Although the Owls may have dropped off in the fourth quarter, they won the game which Evans said she was happy about.
“I think overall it was a good first game of the season,” Evans said. “There are definitely things that we need to work on as a team, but it was great to put all the things we have been working on together in action.”
