Emmetsburg’s Paige Naig puts up a shot against a Spencer defender during play Friday night. Naig would end up with 16 points to pace the Lady E-Hawks in the contest. -- Dan Voigt photo

SPENCER – Some early foul troubles and a very aggressive defense would deny Emmetsburg’s Lady E-Hawks a win in a 45-32 loss to Spencer on Friday night. The setback closes out the first half of the season with a mark of 2-5 for Coach John Kennedy’s ball club and an 0-4 record in the Lakes Conference race.

Spencer’s aggressive full-court defense caused problems quickly for the Lady E-Hawks, as several players picked up quick fouls that would alter the offensive game plan. However, Emmetsburg would battle to trail by four points, 11-7 after one quarter of play, and maintained that margin through the second quarter to trail 19-15 at the intermission.

In the third quarter, Emmetsburg came out cold but finally found a spark midway through the quarter, but Spencer had pulled out ot a 34-26 advantage to start the final frame and held on to preserve for the 45-32 final score.

Paige Naig led Emmetsburg with 16 points, while Faith Schmidt added eight. Nicole Leuer would tally a three-pointer in the third quarter for three points, while Aly Berven and Kaity Degen each had two points and Justine Kummer added a free throw to the tally.