Louisville City Wire

In their first contest against an NCAA Division III opponent this year, the Spalding Golden Eagles took care of business with a 75-63 win over Earlham College.

With the win, Spalding moves to 1-1 overall, while the Quakers fall to 0-3 in the early season.

TURNING POINT
It was a back-and-forth battle during the first quarter between the two squads. The Golden Eagles got some separation thanks to an Anastasia Dowlen jumper and a Maelyn Ridener shot from deep that pushed the lead to eight. Earlham was able to cut the lead to five at the end of the opening frame.

In the second quarter, the Quakers cut the visitor's lead to one. A 6-0 Spalding run, capped off by a Ma'Kaylia Lute 3-pointer, pushed the lead back to nine. Earlham quickly narrowed the margin again and kept the Golden Eagles from taking a double-digit lead.

A 9-0 run in the third quarter blew the game open in favor of Spalding. The SU team pushed the lead to 15 at the 1:02 mark of the third frame on a Ridener free throw.

The fourth quarter saw much of the same for the Golden Eagles with SU holding a double-digit lead for all but 14 seconds of the final frame. As the buzzer sounded Spalding picked up the first win of the 2022-23 season 75-63.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES 

• Natalie Fichter collected her first double-double of the year with 14 points and 12 boards.
• Fichter had three blocks which tied her career high and her 12 rebounds are the most by any Golden Eagle this season.
• Anastasia Dowlen joined in the double-digit scoring with 16 on the night.
• The bench put on a show for SU with 40 points coming from the reserves.
• Spalding made the most of second chances with 13 points coming off missed SU shots.

ARROW SAFETY PLAYER OF THE GAME

Dowlen was picked as the Arrow Safety Player of the Game for her performance. Her 16-point performance was the best of any Golden Eagle this year. She also added three rebounds and one steal.

NEXT FOR SPALDING

Spalding travels to Danville, Ky. this weekend to take part in the Holiday Inn-Hampton Inn Danville Classic at Centre College. The Golden Eagles face the host Colonels on Friday at 7 p.m. 

Original source can be found here.