Introducing the women’s baskeball team: trusting the system

This archived article was written by: Ayanna Ford

On top of that our defense was really lazy we didn’t play to our potential.”
USU Eastern’s woman’s basketball team started the season off with a win over Casper College. The win over Casper sparked great enthusiasm towards the women’s season due to that fact that Casper is one of the tougher teams in the NJCAA (National Junior Col- lege Association). Eastern stands at 4-3 in preseason.
The women athletes could agree the Jam- boree was a false representation of what they were fully capable of. They agreed it was a learning lesson and a huge eye opener, real- izing they had much to improve on and fix before the games that mattered rolled around.
The women’s basketball team admits this task was far from easy, having to overcome a lot of trials and tribulations. Coming out the Jamboree 1-3 and losing the first league game, the Lady Eagles knew they had to make some huge adjustments. So huge adjustments the Lady Eagles made, going into the season 1-1 with the win against Casper.
What did you learn and take from the Jamboree? “Coming out of the Jamboree as team we learned we have a lot to work on. Also we have a lot of potential and it will be something amazing when we start to play together,” stated Bryndie Ballam.
What could have possibly went wrong during the Jamboree, the players had similar responses. “We’re a young team and I feel the nerves really kicked in with us freshman playing our first college game,” said Mickaela Rueckert.
“Every game is going to be a tough game you can’t underestimate anybody. The team that works the hardest and with the most fight will come out with the win,” said Ashelyn Coleman. The response that stood out the most was “trust the system,” said Mickaela Rueckert. The reasoning behind her response Mickaela stated, “The coaches know what they are talk- ing about, if we do not buy into the system and trust in them it will not work. Only good can come from what they are teaching us being that they are both experienced players and played at levels we only dream of playing at.”
“We didn’t play together as a team during the jamboree, we just weren’t fully prepared,” said Barbara Cousino. “Our communication just wasn’t there, everyone did their own thing.
The women’s baskeball team poses for its team photo.
photo courtesy Tyson Chappell
“If we don’t talk and communicate on the court it is impossible to play good together and we need to play harder,” said Ana Borges.