The 13th time was a charm for the Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont girls’ basketball team, as they ended a 12 game losing streak against Washington by spoiling opening night with a 52-39 win. 

As heard on KCII, the game was nip and tuck for most of the way with the score notched up at eight after one and the Rockets holding a slight 25-21 lead at the break. That margin stayed true until four minutes left in the game when an EBF press caused the Demons to turn it over and pull away for the victory. Foul trouble hampered Washington all night with a pair of players fouling out and the only returning starter in Anna Nacos was sidelined for much of the second half picking up her fourth early in the third. The senior tallied six points on the evening. Josie Tanner was a bright spot offensively knocking down five triples to finish with a team-high 15 points. Sophomore Makenna Conrad was a pesky defender with numerous steals and eight points. Brooke Shafer was hard to stop for the Rockets with 15 points. 

Head Coach Shannon Rugg knows improvement is needed for his young bunch, but saw plenty of potential. “We knew we were going to make mistakes and just need to learn from them. I thought we played hard and did some good things in the first half. Once Anna had to come out for foul trouble in the second half they pressed us and that hurt a little bit. I did think some players stepped up with Josie hitting shots and many others making plays. We have worked hard in the preseason and I thought the effort showed tonight.”

Washington starts up the campaign 0-1 and they are off until December 7th when they host Centerville.