MUNCIE, Ind – Though the first half of the season opener did not go the way Delta girls’ basketball head coach TyRonda Benning wanted, she told her team at halftime that they needed to clean up their game.
“We just didn’t follow the game plan,” Benning said. “We did a lot of things that were unlike us.”
Multiple foul calls and turnovers plagued the blue and gold as the Muncie Central Bearcats led after the first quarter 8-6. Though the Eagles saw better results in the second period, the game was tied 15-15 at the break.
“I told them they needed to step it up defensively,” Benning said.
Between juniors Jillian Barr and Griffyn Knight, the pair knew their second-year head coach was right. With that in mind, the two led Delta as Barr ended the game with 16 points while Griffin had 18, helping the Eagles defeat the Bearcats 39-34.
“We didn’t play well tonight,” Knight said. “But this puts us in an okay spot for our next game.”
For the two Delaware County teams, the season started with different attitudes. For the Bearcats, a young roster with some talent saw varsity minutes, but for the Eagles, the blue and gold wanted to see what they would look like after coming off of last year which saw them win the Delaware County tournament.
Though tonight’s game ended in their favor, Benning was not impressed with what she saw.
“They just played timid,” she said. “I’m not sure why and I’m going to try and get to the bottom of it. But that came with a lot of those first-half mistakes that we made.”
Despite the errors both teams had in the opening half, they each displayed solid defense that didn’t allow much offense. Benning credited the visiting team as she believed they gave her roster everything they had.
“Good job to [Muncie] Central,” Benning said. “They played hard the entire time and they are a young and up-and-coming program.”
Though the coaching staff saw the issues on the court, the Eagles themselves knew they were in trouble after the poor start.
“[The Bearcats] came out with a lot more confidence,” Barr said. “We knew that we were better than that and could win this game, so we just stuck with it.”
For the rest of the contest, the blue and gold found ways to open up on offense and spread the ball. But it was Knight – who knocked down four 3-pointers – who gave them the spark they needed.
Add on that Barr became a weapon in the paint, the Eagles used the pair and some solid defense to take their first game of the year.
“It’s the first game of the year, so there’s always stuff to build on,” Benning said. “We got way better from our first game to our last game last year. It’s just one of those things where it’s a new team and a new vibe. I just hope my girls can capitalize on the mistakes.”
The Eagles will try to stay in the win column when they travel to Madison-Grant Saturday, Nov. 9. The game will start at 12:30 p.m. The Bearcats will look for their first win when they head to Northeastern Tuesday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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