With new blood lifting the East Marion Lady Eagles, they are looking like a new team heading down the stretch.
After previously losing to St. Patrick 32-27 three weeks prior, the Lady Eagles (4-6, 2-2) doubled up the Fighting Irish 56-28 at home Tuesday night.
Head coach Calvin Brown said the insertion of younger players into the rotation gave the Lady Eagles a shot in the arm of energy and enthusiasm that spread throughout the team. They called up Jayda Porter and Natalee Dillon from the junior high team, which went undefeated and won the Tri-County championship, and gave freshman Ellen Porter and sophomore Asia Lenoir more playing time.
“It was contagious. I think they had a profound effect on us that night,” Brown said.
He added that Ellen Porter and Lenoir earned more minutes because of what they have shown in practice. They will continue to get minutes as long as they continue to practice as well as they have because Brown said the Lady Eagles tend to play like they practice.
Destiny Brown paced East Marion with an elite all-around performance with 17 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Ellen Porter (six rebounds), Jayda Porter (five rebounds) and Lia Smith (seven rebounds) each had eight points, and Dyani Weary had six points and six boards.
East Marion played at North Forrest (15-4, 4-0) Friday night, but results were unavailable at press time. Brown said Thursday that to win the district, the Lady Eagles need to figure out how to beat North Forrest. He said East Marion is the only other team in the district good enough to knock off North Forrest, but the Lady Eagles will have to improve in all areas and play up to their potential for the entire game.
