Brandon Eygabroad has established high standards for the Rainier High School girls basketball team in his sixth season at the helm.
That’s why, 58 seconds into the Mountaineers’ non-league home game against Central 2B League opponent Morton-White Pass on Tuesday, Dec. 12, he called a timeout as he wasn’t pleased with how his team started after surrendering the first basket of the night.
“We just were not as focused as we needed to be,” he said. “We didn’t get back on defense, and they got an easy layup in transition. We’re setting ourselves to a standard, and we weren’t hitting what we needed to hit, so I had to call a timeout and make sure that they knew what was expected of them.”
It was a scrappy first quarter between the Mountaineers and Timberwolves, as both teams forced turnovers and pushed the ball down the court in transition. Mountaineers ball-handlers fed senior post Haleigh Hanson early and often, and she converted in the paint. Through the first quarter, the score was knotted at 15.
In the second quarter, the Mountaineers got back to their brand of basketball, Eygabroad said. They forced tough shots, collected steals via their signature full-court press, and Hanson’s continued assertiveness. Rainier opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run and held the Timberwolves to just four points in the period to take a 35-19 halftime lead.
“In the first quarter, we were really just individually playing defense out there,” Eygabroad said. “When that team concept comes in, we’re ready to help, recover and have each other’s back.”
Once again, Eygabroad called a timeout in the middle of a third-quarter possession while leading 39-26 to establish expectations. He subbed four starters out while starting guard Bryn Beckman ran the point, and he was impressed with his second unit, which helped the Mountaineers increase their lead with a 10-2 run to close out the third.
“Our depth is really great this year. Everybody who comes off the bench has a skill that they can apply to the game,” Eygabroad said. “I really liked how they got after it defensively.”
Hanson continued to take over the game in the fourth quarter, establishing a presence deep in the paint and quickly scoring over the undersized Timberwolves defense. She finished with a game-high 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the floor and collected eight rebounds and three steals, as well. Beckman posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Askey dropped 14 points and three steals.
The Mountaineers defense stole the ball 22 times, forcing 28 turnovers total, and held the Timberwolves to a 26.9% field goal percentage and a 15.4% 3-point percentage in the 72-35 victory. Despite the 37-point victory and 5-0 record, Eygabroad still believes his team has a lot of room for growth.
“I want them to just keep that edge. It’s easy to get complacent. It’s a really long season, and they need to just keep their eye on the prize,” he said. “These regular season games are little checkpoints along the way to districts and eventually the state tournament.”
Rainier also blew out Central 2B League opponent Onalaska, 69-34, on Friday, Dec. 15. The Mountaineers were led by Beckman’s 21 points and Askey’s 17 points, and they improved to 6-0 with a perfect 3-0 record through three league games. Their next contest was a home league bout with Toledo on Wednesday, Dec. 20, but results were not available before press time. Rainier has won five straight against the Riverhawks dating back to the 2020-21 season.
