The Beta Epsilon Chi Cardinals defeated the Alpha Gamma Tau Eagles 33-20 Monday in a National League intramural basketball matchup.

The first few minutes of the game were tense, as the Eagles’ Elisa Maunula opened up the scoring with a three-pointer. The Eagles’ Leah Edwards quickly added to that with a strong take to the rim to make it 5-0 Eagles.

Charis Byrd of the Cardinals responded with a deep two-pointer for the Cardinals’ first points of the game. Scoring alternated evenly between the two teams until Byrd made a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 12-9 advantage over the Eagles.

After a few more baskets from the Cardinals, they led 18-9 at halftime. To adjust, the Eagles put more pressure on Byrd to force other Cardinals to step up in the second half.

In the second half, the Cardinals’ Bekah Misiura drove into the paint and made a layup despite contact to make it 22-9. However, the Eagles battled their way back, using a 9-4 run to close the gap to 26-18.

The Eagles had no answer for Byrd, as she hit another three-pointer to stop the run. The Cardinals proceeded to go on a 7-2 run to close out the game, with a final score of 33-20.

“I’d say sticking with our 2-3 on defense and trying to work the ball in to create open shots on offense won us the game,” Byrd said. “All the girls really stepped up. I think now that we’ve played together some, the chemistry will be there for the next game.”

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 2-0 and sole possession of first place in the National League, while the Eagles dropped to 1-1.