Four in Double-FIgures as RU Takes Care of Bluefield

David Finney | photo by G-Rox Photography

Bluefield, VA - As we enter the final week of the regular season, the Eagles find themselves still trying to figure out who they are as a team.  There is no doubt that this team has true talent and can play with anyone in the AAC, but there has been much inconsistency from game to game. The losses have been by narrow margins in conference games and the final week is lining up to be a good finish for the Eagles as they look to gain on the teams in front of them.

The start of this big ending happened on Saturday morning as Reinhardt visited the Rams of Bluefield in Virginia. Abi Haynes would start the scoring for the Eagles on a layup which was two of her 19 points total in the game. Brylee Puckett would follow this with a layup and the Eagles were off to a good start.  The Rams would eventually start scoring and take the lead with around four minutes left in the first quarter, 10-7, and they would make a small run on Reinhardt. Bluefield would have a seven-point lead after the first quarter, 20-13.

Catherine Shope would hit a three-pointer to start the second quarter, but the lead would grow to as high as nine in this stretch for the Rams. Haynes' layup at the six-minute mark cut the lead to just six points as the Eagles started making a comeback. Ashley Woodroffe would follow with a layup to cut the lead to just two and the Eagles were right back in the game.  The lead would extend to six once again before the Eagles cut it to just four at the half, 24-30, on a layup by Symone Williams.

It would be easy to think that the Eagles might have another tough and narrow loss on the road, but the Eagles were determined not to let this happen. Abi Haynes had another layup three minutes into the third quarter and the lead was cut to just two. Haynes had a great third quarter going 5-5 from the field and scoring 10 points. The Eagles were finally able to take the lead with about six minutes left in the third quarter on a jump shot from Haynes. Emilee Swafford followed this with a jump shot of her own and the Eagles were building a small run. The lead would get up to eight points before Bluefield would make a run at the Eagles.  The third quarter would with a narrow two-point lead for Reinhardt, 49-47.

The Eagles have found themselves in this situation plenty of times this season where they had the lead going into the fourth quarter only to eventually lose the lead and the game.  When this happens, it can start playing mental games in your head, however, this team said this isn't going to happen today. Catherine Shope would start the fourth with a layup followed by another layup by Haynes. This would get Reinhardt up by eight points with just eight minutes left in the game. The trio of Haynes, Shope, and Woodroffe would make it possible for the Eagles to hold off a talented Bluefield team that was not going to go away that easily. 

The game eventually was tied again at 57 all just inside five minutes left in the game. It would be a game that would have you on the edge of your seat with nervousness as the final minutes dropped off the clock. Which team would finish out this game for the Eagles? Reinhardt had a two-point lead with forty seconds left in the game on a Shope layup. Shortly after, Haynes showed why practicing free throws is so important to a basketball team because the game was sealed at the free-throw line for the Eagles. Haynes would hit four straight free throws to end this game allowing the Eagles to get an important conference win.

Abi Haynes would lead the Eagles with 19 points followed by 11 each for Catherine Shope and Julia Craft. Ashley Woodroffe would add 10 points to be the fourth Eagle in double figures. Haynes also had 9 rebounds and Tarrah Gibson ended up with 7 rebounds.

The Eagles shot 56.6% for the game which is outstanding and one of the reasons that won the game. It was an important win getting the Eagles to 10-9 in the AAC. They will finish this week with Truett McConnel away on Monday, Brenau at home on Wednesday, and the regular season Senior Game on Saturday against St. Andrews. Picking up three wins would be a great finish for Coach Wagoner and the Eagles as they look forward to playing in the AAC Tournament.