Eagles win exhibition game over Lawrence Tech 74-54
In his first outing as head coach, Fred Castro and Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball won their exhibition matchup over the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils, 74-54, on Monday November 6, 2016 at the Convocation Center.
“I was overall excited that we came away with the 20-point win,” said Castro. “I was also excited about the crowd here – which I think made a difference and we did some good things, but we obviously got a lot of work to do.”
At the opening tip-off, Sheyna Deans got right to it offensively scoring her first four attempts for the Eagles – taking a 10-2 lead early in the first. Eagles came out with their new man-to-man defense and applied defensive pressure against Lawrence Tech.
Coach Fred Castro kept the Eagles fresh early with a constant rotation from the bench that provided an early 23-7 lead after the first quarter.
The Eagles struggles in the second quarter offensively with turnovers and offensive fouls – which allowed Lawrence Tech to cut the lead down to single digits. “A lot of that had to do with their 1-3-1 which slowed the pace of the game down for us, said Castro.” “In the first quarter you could tell they played man and we got to run our offense and make some shots, but after we got use to the zone, we were able to knock down shots. That’s the type of defense you need a few reps for.”
After a timeout in the final two minutes of the second quarter, EMU went on a 12-3 run including two triples from Deans and Tori Easley to close the half leading 40-22. The Eagles closed the half allowing Lawrence Tech to shoot only 24 percent from the field while shooting 50 percent respectively.
Eagles uses their first half push to come away with the victory over the Blue Devils of Lawrence Tech.
Sheyna Deans scored a game high 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles. Esabelle Levine, Phillis Webb and Tori Easley each contributed with nine points respectively. Micah Robinson dished out seven dimes to go along with her seven points.
EMU forced 17 turnovers, but turned the ball over 16 times. “We got to get in the gym and we got to work and watch film”, said Castro. “It’s not enough to just play hard, you have to play hard and be discipline.”
Coach Castro was pleased with not only the outcome of the victory, but the overall feeling coaching his first game at EMU. “It was exciting to just watch our players get out there and see what we can finally do”, said Castro. “It’s just nice to see them put on their jerseys – it’s nice finally play somebody else since we have been going at each other for quite some time.
Looking forward:
Eastern Michigan will begin their season officially Saturday November 12, 2016 versus Georgia State at the Donna Murphy Classic in Morehead, Kentucky.
