Lady Eagles tested in California

Boulder City head coach Paul Doschcame into the the Nighthawk Classic in Murrieta, Calif., hopeful that his team could compete with some of the top teams in the state. Through three days of play, it looked like things have gone well for the Lady Eagles.

Despite a 1-2 record through their first three days of play, the Lady Eagles have done a great job overall of handling the higher level of competition they've played against.

According to Maxpreps.com, the Lady Eagles rank as the country's 8,710th girls basketball program, while the three teams they've played, Murrieta Valley (2,532), Elsinore (8,305) and Paloma Valley (7,420) all ranked higher.

"We know we're going to have to play our best," Boulder City head coach Paul Dosch said, prior to the start to of the Nighthawk Classic. "We're going to be playing a lot of great teams, so it's important that we give our best effort."

Picking up their lone win thus far against Elsinore (Calif.) on day two of tournament play, the Lady Eagles used a 28-6 second quarter run to come away with a 57-35 victory.

Senior guard Megan Morton was dominant throughout the ball game for Boulder City, leading the team with a game-high 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals, while junior forward Julia Worrall added a game-high 15 rebounds to go with 11 points.

Scoring 11 points as well on the night was freshman guard Hannah Estes, who continues to make strides each week, while senior Rylee Dosch and sophomore Jerra Hinson both chipped in two points apiece.

Despite falling to both Murrieta Valley (Calif.) 55-38 and Paloma Valley (Calif.) 50-36, the Lady Eagles showed poise throughout both matchups, which should benefit them when they come back to town to play teams geared more toward their national ranking.

Continuing to make her case once again as the Division I-A's best player, Morton scored a game-high 19 points points against Murrieta Valley, while adding another 13 against Paloma Valley.

Results from the Lady Eagles fourth and final game of the Nighthawk Classic will appear in next week's issue, along with the team's expectations heading into league play after traveling out of state to play a higher level of competition.