ALTON - Even though they are only a couple of weeks into their regular season, the Marquette Catholic Explorers girls basketball team (2-7) have been struggling to make put the ball in the net. In Thursday night’s battle against the Brussels High School Raiders (6-2), the Explorers couldn’t keep up and was defeated 59-31

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"Our shots aren't going in, in all honesty," Marquette Catholic High School girls basketball coach Megan Hanlon said. "It's frustrating for me and I know it's frustrating for the girls, but its something we have to work on. We're not as strong as we needed to be under the basket." 

The Raiders knocked give points on the scoreboard easily to begin the game with plays by junior Alexa Pikesley and senior Faith Maag. Senior Brittany Pace of the Explorers quickly rebuttled and brought in two for her team in attempt to make a comeback.

Unfortunately, the points kept coming for Brussels. Both Pikesley and Maag ended up scoring two more points and their teammates and junior classmates Grace Stephens and Baylee Kiel both brought in four each. The Raiders led the Explorers 17-4 to end the first.

In an push for control, Marquette landed five points courtesy of sophomore Lauren Fischer and four each from B. Pace and senior Andria Pace. Their classmate, Elena Gable also brought in two points to raise their score by 15 points.

Jenny Ohlendorf (#14) for BrusselsAlthough the Explorers made a decent push for a lead, the Raiders’ offense remained stronger. Kiel brought in five points herself while Maag brought in four. Two points were also scored by sophomore Jenny Ohlendorf and junior Madison Willman from successful free throws.

At the end of the second, the Marquette Explorers were still 11 points behind the Explorers at 30-19.

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In the third, the Explorers could only bring in five points, courtesy of a three-pointer by sophomore Taylor Aguirre and a two-point shot by Gable.

Yet again, the Raiders offensively dominated their opponents. Willman, Kiel, Stephens and Pikesley all brought in two for their team this period with Ohlendorf nailing a great three-pointer.

At the end of this period, the Explorers continued to trail behind the Raiders 41-24.

In the fourth period, the ladies from Brussels continued their offensive triumph over Marquette. Senior Makayla Friedel made up for her lack of scoring previously in the game by bringing in a whomping seven points this period. Maag followed up by nailing a three-pointer and a successful two-point shot to bring in 5. Keil landed a three-pointer herself while Stephens and Ohlendorf brought in two and one point respectively.

At the final buzzer, the Brussels Raiders defeated the Marquette Catholic Explorers 59-31.

Brussels coach Steve Schulte was of course happy with his team's win, but wishes the team could have done a little better themselves. 

"We played fairly well," he said. "Our girls at the beginning of the game was a little sluggish. We finally came out of it toward the end of the second. Although, as far as hustle, the girls were getting a lot better at that."

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