The women’s basketball team opened up the 2016-17 season with its first 100 point game since February 2014.

The Eagles beat the Roosevelt University Lakers 108-55 fueled by leading scorers Kaydie Grooms and Hannah Wascher.

Grooms remained the team’s leading scorer from the first quarter on ending the game with 21 points followed by Wascher’s 19.

Despite the end result of the game, the first quarter was tight. The Eagles only had a four-point lead to head to the second quarter.

Starting the second quarter the team picked up its defense and was able to pull away to gain a lead it never lost.

“Defense is always on the forefront of our minds for every game,” Assistant Coach Randa Dallas said. “Once we got settled into our team defense we started to play them better defensively.”

Freshman Morgan Sherwood entered her first game in the Physical Activities Center in the second quarter and came away with two consecutive steals.

“I just was excited to be in,” she said. “I wanted to come in and give the energy and give what I could to get my team going.”

Sherwood said after the first quarter the discussion focused on the defense. that was not our defense. We knew we needed to step it up and start communicating.

“That was not our defense,” Sherwood said. “We knew we needed to step it up and start communicating.”

Dallas said the deepness of the team this year helped the defense, including the focus it put on full-court pressure.

“I think our full-court pressure is going to be a great defense for us,” she said. “The girls believe in it. It brings a lot of intensity to the game.”

Dallas said next week will be a tough matchup for the team, but starting the season with a win against Butler University during the exhibition game was exciting for the team.

“That really started our season off and gave us a little sense of what we can do,” she said. “Tonight reiterated that.”