Lady Eagles look to start anew after preseason

This archived article was written by: Micah Iverson

Micah Iverson
sports editor
[email protected]
From their record in the preseason (2-6), one would think that nothing has gone the Lady Eagles’ way. “We could easily be 6-2,” says Coach David Paur. He went on to say that poor shooting coupled with injuries and suspensions have taken their toll on team so far this year.
With the preseason over, the Eagles gear up for their first home game in the Scenic West Athletic Conference. Thursday the Lady Rebels from Dixie State will be in the BDAC to test skills they have been honing during preseason. They are among three teams in the SWAC who will enter the regular season ranked nationally in the top twenty (College of Southern Idaho #3, Salt Lake Community College #10, Dixie State #20). The competition will be fierce, but coaches Paur and Dan Allen have the Eagles ready for what lies ahead.
The Lady Eagles started their preseason at a tournament in Cedar City with a record of two wins and no loses. In their first preseason game came against Yavapai Community College, the Lady Eagles came out victorious 64-56 with Krislyn Wallace leading the Eagles with 16 points on 7/15 shooting, point guard Veva Whitear added 11.
They continued their winning ways the next night when they slipped pass Glendale Community College 65-63. Thirteen points each from Wallace and Janeen Nelson were tops for the Lady Eagles.
The Lady Eagles took their newfound success to Casper, Wyo., on November 11-13. This tournament would turn out to be one big heartbreak for the Eagles as they lost all three games by only a combined 13 points. They started out against Northwest College on the 11th and lost a tough 54-51. Jana Glover lead the team with 11 points but the team shot a dismal 30 percent and turned the ball over 24 times.
The next night they hoped to turn things around but lost another close one, 56-61, to their hosts Casper College. Glover once again led the Eagles but this time with 15 points, with Wallace chipping in 14. On the last night of the tournament, the Eagles hoped to salvage at least one win, but at their demise they lost their third and final game to Sheridan College 69-74. Wallace and Whitear led the team with 14 and 11, respectively.
With the Casper Tournament just a memory, the Eagles traveled to Twin Falls, Idaho, for a match-up against national-powerhouse College of Southern Idaho. They played three games in all, one against CSI and the others against Yakima Community College and South Mountain Community College. Unfortunately the Lady Eagles dropped all three games. In the first against CSI, they came out strong and trailed at half by five, 36-41.
The Lady Eagles of CSI came out even stronger in the second half and outscored the CEU Lady Eagles 31-59. CEU lost the game 67-100. Janeen Nelson’s 5/11 from beyond the three-point arc led the team with 17 points.
The next night they fared the same way and lost to Yakima Community College 65-94. The bright spot for CEU came with Whitney Fardig who scored 13 points and snatched 8 boards. Jana Glover led the team with 20 and added seven rebounds.
With their last chance to steal a win before going home, the Lady Eagles lost a close one to South Mountain Community College by one point, 54-53. Once again Fardig was everywhere in the paint and snatched a tournament high 19 rebounds and added seven points. Glover again led the team in scoring with 15 points.
With a 2-6 preseason record, the Eagles still have confidence that they can succeed and play well with the competition in the SWAC. With the 20th ranked Dixie State Rebels visiting the BDAC Thursday at 5:30 pm, the Lady Eagles need to come out strong and shoot the ball well. With all the lessons learned in the preseason, they will have a lot to prove this season following their success from just a year ago. With limitless talent on this year’s squad, the Eagles will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.