If anyone thought there was something wrong with the Eagles girls basketball team because they were seeded only third at this week’s Class 3 District 9 basketball tournament, you can forget about those doubts.

Eagles guard Faryn Griffin bumps a South Callaway Bulldog and steals the ball in Monday’s SoBoCo win.

The Eagles began their quest for a third consecutive district title on Monday with a 65-35 blowout win over the South Callaway Bulldogs.

SoBoCo was in command of the game from the opening whistle, pressing the Bulldogs and running to an 11-2 first quarter lead.

“Our defense led us early and got us on track,” said Eagles coach Tony Phillips. “We pushed them with our press and that created opportunities for our offense.”

The Eagles got an opening basket from Emma Anderson, then a pair of steals from Kylie Shoot and Faryn Griffin leading to baskets by Skyler Beeson and Shoot and bounced ahead 6-0 before South Callaway got the ball past the mid-court line.

Beeson hit a trey, Anderson stole the in-bounds pass and completed the layup and Shoot hit a 3-pointer — and the route was on.

Even when the Eagles subs came on the floor, the defensive intensity was relentless.

~ Find out more in today’s Journal ~

By Bruce Wallace