Cabrini fans and supporters took to the bleachers of the Nerney Field House for another installment in the classic Battle of Eagle Road rivalry between the Lady Cavaliers and the Eastern University Eagles.
The game marked the first victory for the Lady Cavs over the Lady Eagles since Feb. 18, 2008, when the Lady Cavs administered an 82-57 thrashing.
“We had a really good team win. There was contributions from starters, subs, freshmen and seniors,” fourth-year head coach Kate Pearson said. “We’re just happy that it was a great team win. Everybody did their part.”
The Lady Cavs took an early lead and never looked back from there. The game was never tied and the Eagles never even took the lead away. The Lady Cavs held a 39-22 lead at halftime and maintained their dominance throughout the rest of the game.
Sophomore guard Amber Keys led the Cavs in scoring, putting up 17 points. Junior forward and captain Colleen Stewart led the team in rebounds, grabbing five on offense and 16 boards on defense. Senior guard/forward Laura Caron and senior guard Renee Deas tied for the team lead in assists with 5 apiece.
As a team, the Lady Cavs made 41.7 percent of their shots. However, they only made 20 percent of their shots taken behind the three-point line. Out of 10 shots from the free-throw line, they made six for a grand total of 60 percent.
“We were really pumped up,” Stewart said. “We’re really looking to run the ball this year. We have a lot of speed, we’re trying to push the ball and we’re not trying to settle as much for half-court. We try to get early leads and jump out in the beginning.”
The win brings the young Lady Cav squad to a 2-1 record on the year and the chance to improve to 3-1 will come next Wednesday against the University of Scranton in Scranton’s barn. While the season is still young, the team remains confident they can keep up the good work over the rest of the year.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” Pearson said. “We’ll enjoy tonight, but then we have to get right back at it to get ready for our next game.”
This will stand as one of the more enjoyable wins for the Lady Cavs this year, as it is the first time anybody on this roster has had the chance to beat the Lady Eagles in the famed rivalry.
“We were coming off of a tough loss to Swarthmore and we really wanted to go out there and get redemption against Eastern after losing to them the past two years,” Stewart said.
