Turnovers haunt Lady Eagles in Gateway rematch

AURORA – Coming off what appeared to be a momentum victory against Northglenn last week, Adams City appeared to be ready for its rematch against Gateway.

Photos by Anthony Arroyo

Adams City's Sonia DeLuna and a Gateway player tie up during an EMAC game Feb. 7. DeLuna scored 10 of her team's 19 points.

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Adams City's Ruby Castro faces some pressure trying to inbound the ball Feb. 7 against Gateway.

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The Eagles' Jasmine Flores heads for the basket at Gateway Feb. 7.

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Based on the final score, this was not the case.

Scoring under double figures in each quarter and unofficially committing 40 turnovers, the Lady Eagles suffered a lopsided defeat from the Lady Olympians of Gateway 50-19 Feb. 7.

ACHS fell 5-13 overall and 2-4 in EMAC play, while GHS moved up to 7-13, 4-5 in the conference.

These two teams played Dec. 9 at Grandview High School, where Gateway was victorious 52-46. One thought the game would have been more competitive than the final score indicated.

“Honestly, I went into this game thinking we could beat them,” head coach Joe McClelland said. “I thought the defensive plan that we had and with the way that we played on Thursday, I thought we would have this game.

“We prepared well. I am at a loss of what took place.”

The closest that the Lady Eagles were in the contest came after a pair of free throws made by sophomore Savanna Denham that locked the game at four a piece. From there, Gateway finished the quarter on a 10-2 run, taking a 14-6 lead after one.

Bad outlet passes and rebounding were the formula to Gateway’s success. McClelland said that his team committed 21 turnovers at halftime, as they trailed 31-10.

“Turnovers,” McClelland said when asked what was most frustrating. “One game we play really well and the next game, we don’t. I simply can’t quite figure out why we do that. We prepare the same way.”

Things did not get better fresh out of the locker room, as the Lady Eagles were outscored by nine points before their opponent paved way for their junior-varsity team to play much of the final quarter.

Gateway still found a way to outscore Adams City by one in the final eight minutes Junior Sonia DeLuna had 10 points for the Lady Eagles, eight of which came from the free-throw line.

Although the lost taste sour, ACHS still has the potential of finishing the regular season strong. The final two games of the season are against Brighton (7-11 overall) and Aurora Central (3-15 overall).