Sports
Eastern Moves on to District Finals
By: Eric Walker
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Laura Pullins caught the ball just behind the 3-point line and immediately took the shot, the ball fell through the net putting Eastern up by six with 2:37 left in the game.
Eastern (17-6), the #2 seed, hit all the clutch shots on its way to a 37-30 win over #3 Fairfield (12-12) in the district semifinal at Jackson High School.
Eastern had clutch plays throughout the game, Pullins drew a charge with 1:30 left in the game, the fourth foul on Fairfield star Grace Shope, and Hannah Bailey hit a three-pointer in the third quarter to give the Lady Eagles a 29-22 lead.
In the fourth quarter Eastern turned the ball over 9 times and didn’t score their first point of the quarter until 2:57 mark. Both teams were playing physical defense and going after every rebound, and it only got more physical in the last quarter with about every possession there being a loose ball where players from both teams were diving on the floor for.
Turnovers did not make the difference in the game as each team had 21 and the turnovers never allowed either team to get in rhythm on offense.
Not one player carried the offense for the Lady Eagles as Laura Pullins scored 10 and Jess Parker and Becca Pullins each added eight.
Shope scored 17 points for Fairfield and was doing her best to keep her team in the game with 7 rebounds. The rest of the team only scored 13 points and eight were by Macie Pauley who grabbed six boards.
The second quarter was the only one where the Lady Eagles outscored the Lady Lions, the 12-5 quarter gave the Lady Eagles a lead that they were able to hold onto for the rest of the game.
The Lady Lions led after one quarter, 7-6, and managed to stay close for the whole game including cutting the lead down to two points with three minutes left in the game.
Eastern left an opening for the Fairfield with missed free throws but the Lady Lions could not convert on the offensive end as they were too careless with the ball.
Elizabeth Collins was dominant in the post on both ends of the court scoring 6 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking two shots.
Eastern will return to Jackson HS on Thursday to play #1 seed South Webster (18-3) in the District Final.