Eagles Best Bears on Friday night

by Bill Althaus, Grain Valley News

While Madison Rust was no fan of the sub-zero temperatures Eastern Jackson County has been experiencing, the Grain Valley High School sophomore guard was thrilled that she only missed one game while battling flu-like symptoms that forced her to sit out a game.

Rust returned to action Friday night at William Chrisman High School where the Eagles claimed a 70-23 mercy-rule victory over the Bears.

In less than three quarters of action, as coach Randy Draper played his reserves most of the second half, Rust finished with 12 points and was a force on both ends of the court.

"Madison is so important to our team," said Addy Seyfert, who led the Eagles with 19 points. "She sees the floor so well, and makes an impact every time she plays. We're happy she only missed one game and we're happy to have her back."

Rust was happy to be back.

"I was coughing, had a sore throat and headaches, but I'm almost 100 percent now," Rust said. "At least I just missed one game. We don't have a lot of (regular-season) games left, and I was so happy I was able to play tonight.

"With the weather (which forced the team to miss games and practices) and me being sick, I was wondering how we'd do tonight, and it was just like I'd never been away. We have a lot of chemistry when we play, and we have an unselfish team that only cares about winning.

"We don't look at personal stats, all we look at is the final score."

With the win, the Eagles improved to 21-1 and remained undefeated in conference action.

"We're playing so well because we play as a team, not individuals," said Aspen Reed, who scored nine points. "It's great to have Madison back, because she means so much to our team. And tonight, we were able to have all our girls play, and it's so much fun to cheer for them when we're on the bench."

The Eagles bench turned into a cheerleading section as Nevaeh Clausen scored 14 points off the bench and the Eagles reserves scored 20 points in the game.

"We love to cheer for our girls," said Rust, who led the cheers from the bench. "They work as hard as we do in practice, and we love to support them when they get to play."

Draper pointed out many games this season where the starters took care of business, allowing the reserves to play.

"That's a real benefit for our team," Draper said. "You never know when someone is going to come in off the bench and play a role in a close game. And they're getting that varsity experience so they will feel comfortable in those situations.

"You know, this is a fun team to watch. And it's a fun team to coach. Girls like Pyper (Hartigan), (Melanie) Marcum and Nevaeh give us valuable minutes off the bench. All our girls do - and that's a big reason we've been so successful this season."

Madison Rust, who missed the Eagles last game with an illness, returned to the Grain Valley High School girls basketball team Friday night and scored 12 points in a 70-23 mercy-rule victory at William Chrisman High School. Photo credit: Bill Althaus​