Three Lady Eagles earn region honors: Adams, Smith and Ficher

This archived article was written by: Abbie Bird

Coach Dave Paur and his team ended their season on a good note. In the SWAC Region Tournament, they beat North Idaho College to go to the second round of playoffs and lost to Salt Lake Community College in a close game on the second night. Although they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Bruins, they left their season with a positive attitude, and three players were rewarded with regional awards.
On Feb. 26, Eastern beat NIC in the first round of playoffs, 66-58. This game, like most throughout the tournament, was close the entire time. The Eagles came in at half time only two points ahead of the Cardinals.
Sophomore guard Bryanna Adams led her team to their win by scoring 24 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Maddy Murphy pitched in 11 points and Jessica Anderson added another 10, with nine rebounds.
The Eagles played their last game of the 2014-15 season on Feb. 27, and suffered a loss to end their season. SLCC was able to pull through with a three-point win over USU Eastern, 62-59.
This game was tight the entire time. SLCC led by only two coming into the half, and Eastern was able to take the lead off and on. At the ending stretch of the game, fouls were called on the Eagles, and SLCC made their free throws to seal the deal.
Five players from Salt Lake were able to score in double digits and it assisted them in getting their win. Adams dropped 20 points, Caroline Ficher chipped in 14 and Murphy had 10. Adams also grabbed nine rebounds in the loss.
Three members of the women’s team were awarded with region honors. Bryanna Adams was named First-Team All Region; Jamie Smith, Second-Team All Region; and Caroline Ficher honorable mention. Adams was put on the All-Tournament Team.
Paur expresses how proud he is of his team, saying, “We were 20 and 10, one of our better season records. I thought we were a top-ten team. We beat teams from Region Nine and one that went to the national tournament. I am most proud of the way we handled set backs and loses; we always came back.
“After a loss to Snow in overtime, we came back and beat NIC and CSI on the road. In the region tournament, we lost to SLCC by three points. What I will remember is they shot 26-foul shots to our two. Sometimes you need a little luck, something we were definitely short on in the tournament. Overall they were a great team and a fun one.”