Benjamin Garcia is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Sandra Day O'Connor for AZPreps365.com)

The Sandra Day O'Connor Eagles fell short against defending champion Pinnacle Pioneers Tuesday. But coach Andra Rodgers found a bright spot in the 73-65 loss.

The Eagles led by as much as 17 points midway through the second quarter but the Pioneers stormed back finishing the half on a 12-3 run.

“This loss shows us we can play with the best teams in the state,'' said Rodgers. "We had an opportunity to get up, but we just didn’t finish.”

O’Connor (4-10) lost its fifth game in a row and remains winless (0-6) in its section with a gut-wrenching loss.

The Eagles third quarter woes continue to haunt them during their five-game skid as they were outscored 28-16.

“We’ve really had some bad third quarters,” Rodgers said. “A lot of the problem is getting in our own heads.”

The Pioneers continued to roll and gained a commanding 10-point lead with just over six minutes left.

Junior at Sandra Day O’Connor Uyi-osa Irowa tried to wheel the Eagles back into the game with a few field goals, bringing the Eagles back within seven points but they failed to complete the comeback.

 “It’s a tough loss, but it has to serve as motivation. We lost but there are still plenty of more games remaining on the schedule,” Irowa said.

The Eagles struggled to take care of the basketball, resulting in 33 turnovers.

Pinnacle capitalized on the Eagles mistakes, which allowed the Pioneers to crawl back from the 17-point deficit.

Rodgers said, “We need to take care of the basketball. We can’t win like that.”

One of the bright spots was senior point guard David Onuigbo.

Although Onuigbo didn’t fill up the stat sheet, he provided a sense of urgency and energy to the team which allowed them to stay in the game.

“This game shows that even as a young team still trying to figure stuff out we are still able to come together and still get some good things going for us,” Onuigbo said.

The Eagles never mailed it in and continued to fight.

With a team that is nearing the end of the season featuring nine sophomores and juniors combined, it’s clear  progress is being made.

However, still winless in their region, the Eagles remain on the prowl for their first win.

“They are kind of down right now. They just want to get a win, they want to get it so bad,” Rodgers said.

Sandra Day O’Connor looks to bounce back Friday versus the Liberty Lions.