JEN HANTZ
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER
The Lady Barons had a rough first home game Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. as they struggled against the Chatham University Cougars, losing 74-47.
The Lady Barons began fighting an uphill battle when the Cougars got the tip and knocked down a three-pointer and a layup, adding five points within the first minute. The Lady Barons stumbled and gave up three more points to the Cougars until they answered back with a foul shot from freshman guard Clare McGahan, scoring their first point of the game. McGahan continued to lead the way with a two-pointer, followed by junior guard Rebekah Nevarez and senior guard Kaitlyn Sonneberger with shots of their own. The Cougars pulled ahead with nine more points and finished the quarter leading, 17-9.
Within the first 30 seconds, the Cougars scored two foul shots to start off the second quarter. The Lady Barons came close to the Cougars with a wave of quick scoring from senior guard Abby Baierl, McGahan and Sonneberger, upping their score eight points. The Cougars pulled ahead as they shot some wide open three-pointers and a two-pointer, ending the quarter with Cougars in the lead, 33-21.
After halftime, senior forward Cianna Vaughan scored a layup to pull ahead, but the Lady Barons were lost in the dust as the Cougars scored seven unanswered points. Wrestling back and forth, the Lady Barons came in strong with three-pointers from Nevarez and freshman guard Selena Coronis at 5:00 and 3:46, respectively, followed by freshman forward Estelle Leon with a layup. The Cougars came back with a couple shots of their own, but Leon scored the final point, ending the quarter 56-40 with the Cougars still in the lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Cougars continued their scoring, but the Lady Barons would not give in. Sonneberger and Vaughan attempted to up the score with two more points each, but the Cougars plowed down the Lady Barons with 12 more points. Sonneberger finished the night with two foul shots, ending the quarter and the game, 74-47, giving the Cougars the win.
Head coach Sean Kirk still holds hope for the team. “I thought we played as a team for the full 40 minutes,” he said. “I am looking forward to getting back in the gym and working on the fundamentals with these guys. They are a ton of fun to coach and work hard every single day.”
The Lady Barons’ next home game will be Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. against Hilbert College.