Hot Start Powers Eisenhower Past Sterling Heights

The Eagles opened their 2011 district playoff bid strong Monday night, beating the Sterling Heights Stallions 66-47 and moving on to the second round of play in the girls basketball tournament.

The Eagles started out the game on a tear, opening up a 16-4 lead in the first 4:20 off of stellar offensive play and strong ball handling intensity.

“I thought we played really well in the first half,” said Eisenhower coach Kevin Donahue. “I thought we had great execution and ball movement.”

The Eagles ended the first period on top 22-15, thanks to 12 points from junior , who knocked in several post shots and one long three-pointer in the opening period to help her team take advantage early.

Donahue admits that it was his team’s stellar ball movement in the early going that allowed Geffert to get open under the basket so many times.

“She just happened to benefit from it,” he said.

In the second quarter, Eisenhower’s opened the scoring with back-to-back baskets that helped increase the Eagles’ lead to 26-15.

Sophomore Patricia Sczczepanski tossed in a long three-pointer–just one basket of her 10 first-half points—early on in the period to give the Stallions hope but Geffert made a bank shot from under her own basket a few seconds later to make the score 28-18.

At 5:06 in the second, senior Alexandria Kluz drained a three-pointer from the far right arc to cut the Eagles’ lead to 30-23–but the Stallions' celebration was short-lived as junior Rachel Saari sank an acrobatic one-handed scoop shot with 4:39 left in the half to put the Eagles up by nine.

Senior Anna Vess made consecutive foul shots a few minutes later to put Eisenhower up by double digits and Geffert extended that lead at 3:06 when she sank a pull-up jumper in the paint, making the score 37-23 for Eisenhower.

Wirth then knocked in two back-to-back post shots to extend the Eagles’ lead to 41-23, effectively hushing the Sterling Heights faithful in the stands.

Eisenhower went into the third quarter leading 41-24, but that’s when they hit their first speed bump in the game as the Stallions outscored them 17-8 in the third period to make the match a lot closer than the Eagles would have liked.

“I think we got a little bored in the third period,” Donahue said. “We had enough mistakes to let them back in the game and give them a little hope.”

The Stallions went into the fourth quarter having cut the Eagles’ lead to 49-41. They got a boost on the opening play of the fourth when senior Sarah Chehab stole the ball and took it the length of the court for a layup, cutting the Eagles’ lead to six.

The Eagles quickly settled down, however, and controlled the ball much better over the next few minutes of play following scores by Geffert and Vess.

The Stallions found themselves stymied by foul trouble as well, losing Sczczepanski and Kluz early in the fourth to five fouls each and allowing Wirth to make three of four shots from the line to help the Eagles increase their lead to 57-43.

Since they were in the penalty, much of the final few minutes of the game were spent at the line for both squads.

“I thought we played much better in the fourth,” Donahue said.

For the Eagles, Geffert was high scorer, finishing with 22 points.

Up next for the Eagles is a matchup with Chippewa Valley at Ford High School at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

Earlier in the evening, the host Ford Falcons beat the Chieftains 62-56 to advance to the second round of district playoffs.