Ana Borges taking a drive toward the basket against North Idaho Community College.

This archived article was written by: Abbie Bird

Tied for second place in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, the women’s basketball team continues to do exceptionally well as they have started their conference games. They are currently tied for second with the College of Southern Idaho and Snow College, each having the record of 3-2. Salt Lake Community College leads the conference with a record of 4-1.
Over the winter break the Eagles played four games, two of which were conference. The other two were in a tournament in Las Vegas.
On Dec. 18, 2014, they played a tight home game against CSI. The Eagles won by five points, 83-78. Sophomore Maddy Murphy lead the way to the victory with 19 points and Bryanna Adams pitched in 18.
Center Jessica Anderson said, “We shut down their post players and played overall good team defense.” Defense was a key factor to their win.
On Dec. 20, the Eagles held another game in the BDAC and took on North Idaho Community College, easily winning 92 to 83. Adams led the team in points with 19, Anderson 15 and Murphy 13. Anderson also had six blocks and the team out rebounded NICC 47-40, which makes a big difference on second chance shots.
Dec. 28, the Eagles played Eastern Arizona College, ranked No. 6 in the nation. Eastern pulled out a 65-62 win. Ana Borges guided the team in points with 16, and Anderson helped with 12. Anderson also pulled down 10 rebounds and had four blocks to help. Down at the end stretch of the game, Borges hit some key free throws to help seal the deal.
Dec. 29, the Eagles took on the No. 2 team in the country, Hutchinson Community College, losing 90-64. Hutchinson had four players score in the double digits, two of which were 20 points that helped with their win. They also out rebounded the Eagles by 40. Captain Jamie Smith stated that the team needed to work on rebounding and overall team defense, and pushing through full possessions.
On Jan. 10, the team headed to Rangeley, Colo. to play Colorado Northwestern Community College. Eastern won 103-62. Adams had 18 points, Smith 14 and Murphy 13. Lejla Hadzialijagic grabbed nine rebounds to assist in the win. The team hit 11 three pointers, while Colorado was only able to sink two.
Assistant coach Chelsea Warburton says region play has been better because the team has been running the offense the way the coaches want them to. She thinks the team needs to improve on keeping the foul count below 16 each game, and also the turnovers.
Head coach Dave Paur believes the team has become more confident in the way they play and shoot. “They now know that they are a top ten team, whereas at the beginning of the year they were hoping to become a top ten team. We are successful because winning games bring confidence.” Paur stated.
The Eagles continue region play and head to Snow, on Thursday, Jan. 15, and SLCC, Jan. 17th.