Bald Eagle girls basketball wins season opener against Saint Joseph’s Catholic
Bald Eagle girls basketball head coach Shawn Thompson saw his team smiling on the bench.
It was the team’s first game of the 2022-23 season and it was the perfect time to beam from ear-to-ear. The Lady Eagles won 39-16 against Saint Joseph’s Catholic.
“It was exciting, man,” Thompson said. “It was opening night and to come off of the court like this with a win was great. I thought the kids played with a lot of enthusiasm. That’s the one thing about our team now – we’ve got to teach them for that enthusiasm to carry through.”
On the opposite end, Lady Wolfpack head coach Bethany Irwin watched her team take the court for the first time together. Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy hasn’t fielded a girls basketball team since the 2019-20 season.
With the long layoff and the former State College head coach taking the reins of the team, Irwin understands that the youthful group of girls are a work in progress and gave all of the credit to them for their fortitude on the court.
“I knew that this was definitely going to be a different experience right now,” Irwin said. “I’m really proud of this group of girls. Starting on Nov. 1, I think we only had four girls. The dedication of them trying to get girls to come out so that they could have a season, I’m really proud of that fact. It’s not about me being back here, it’s not about me on the court, it’s about them and what I can do for them.”
Sophomore Taylor Habovick can usually be seen digging softballs out of the dirt and making timely hits as Bald Eagle’s starting catcher. On Tuesday night, she starred at guard and led her team with 15 points on the night.
“It was great. It was an awesome way to start the season, especially off of a losing season last year,” Habovick said. “It was kind of difficult. We had some girls not come out this year and that left us with very few. We’ll work with what we have.”
The Lady Eagles controlled the pace of play throughout the game and locked in on the defensive end. Habovick set the tone with six points scored in the first quarter, along with Gabbie Perry and Addison Burns’ two points a piece. Saint Joseph’s Catholic forward Aubrey Yartz made one free throw to bring the game to 10-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Saint Joseph’s Catholic began to tick up its scoring with Yartz netting four more points, but Bald Eagle slightly outpaced the Lady Wolfpack with six points – four from Abby Hoover and two from Sybil Thompson to make the lead 16-5 at the half.
Bald Eagle held a steady lead in the third quarter with Hoover’s five points, Sybil Thompson’s three and two more from Habovick. Yartz scored three points to bring the game to 26-8 at the conclusion of the third quarter. She went on to score six more points for the Lady Wolfpack, bringing her total to 14 on the night at the end of the game.
Bald Eagle Area 39, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy 16
BEA (1-0): Habovick 15, A. Hoover 9, Burns 7, Thompson 5, Perry 2, E. Hoover 1
SJCA (0-1): Yartz 14, Chappelle 2
Half: 16-5, Bald Eagle
Next: Bald Eagle at Central Mountain on Friday, Saint Joseph’s Catholic at Greenwood on Dec. 12
This story was originally published December 6, 2022 at 10:04 PM.
