BELL BUCKLE — Turnovers plagued the Cascade Lady Champions and left them playing from behind for the duration of their 49-37 loss to the Eagleville Lady Eagles on Tuesday night.
Both teams started out slow to open the game, but the Lady Eagles (2-1) started applying full court pressure two minutes into the first quarter, and went on a 9-2 run to separate themselves from the Lady Champions (1-2).
Cascade head coach Janie Demonbreum urged her team to slow down the pace after committing 16 first half turnovers.
“I told them at halftime that we needed to slow down,” she said. “We can’t think that we can play fast and be successful. We just aren’t to that point yet.”
After a slow offensive start the Lady Champions applied some defensive pressure, and went on a 9-2 run of their own in the second quarter following a bucket from Kaegan Young – Cascade’s first field goal since the six and a half minute mark of the first quarter.
Young had nine points in the quarter.
But the Lady Eagles found their footing again and carried a 28-18 lead into halftime.
Opening the second half, Annabelle Calvert knocked down a three-pointer to jumpstart Cascade’s scoring attack.
Immediately after, the Lady Champions jumped back into their pressure defense and forced turnovers that resulted into easy baskets which brought them to within five points heading into the final frame.
“Defensively, I think we can cause some problems by pressing other teams this season,” Demonbreum said. “I’m looking to press a lot and hang my hat on our defense. That’s how we played when I was in school, so that’s what I want to do here as well.”
Despite their third quarter effort, Cascade couldn’t quite crawl all the way back as Eagleville went 7-of-11 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter.
For the duration of the contest, the Lady Eagles shot 19-of-25 from the stripe compared to the Lady Champions’ 9-of-13 total.
Six Lady Champions contributed to the final score, but Young and Sophie Ray were the only two in double figures with 14 and 11 respectively.
For Demonbreum, it boils down to execution.
“We just have to execute our plays, especially on inbound plays when we have an open shot,” she said. “Annabelle Calvert, Kadence Miller, and Savannah Crews have to consistently contribute for us to have success. If those three aren’t contributing in every aspect, then it will be hard for us to have success.”
While it’s difficult to have a positive outlook after a loss, Demombreum applauded her team for their effort and resiliency in the midst of a fast-paced affair.
“We played really hard tonight, and that’s what I told the girls.” she said. “Tonight, we slowed down against the press and took our time. We didn’t fall into the speed of the game, and that’s a positive.”
The Lady Champions will take a short break from action before making a trip to Rockvale on Monday, Nov. 28th with tipoff set for 6 p.m.

Eagleville 11 17 9 12 -– 49
Cascade 5 13 14 5 — 37

Eagleville: Eliza McClaran 16, Brinlin Bain 12, Isabella Sawyer 11, Alex Klarer 5, Shelbie Mooneyham 5.
Cascade: Kaegan Young 14, Sophie Ray 11, Annabelle Calvert 5, Abrielle Presley 3, Isabella Rhodes 2, Suzanna Crews 2.
3-Point goals: Cascade (2): Calvert, Young; Eagleville (1): Bain.
Halftime score: Eagleville 28, Cascade 18.