No Shrinking Violet Eastern Eagles Forward Aggressively Pursues Rebounds, Abnormal Psychology
Allie Bailey has taken a shine to studying sick people’s minds. The idea of learning about the strange came about when she first watched the movie “Silence of the Lambs.” While Anthony Hopkins as serial killer Hannibal Lecter had Bailey covering up, Jodie Foster as FBI agent Clarice Starling opened a world of ideas.
“I’ve taken a liking to abnormal psychology,” Bailey said, a junior on the Eastern Washington University women’s basketball team. “Diagnosing disorders, learning about mental disorders. It’s all fascinating to me.”
But for now, the three-year starter on the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team is working on understanding your basic human behavior.
Psych 101 with a bouncing ball. More specifically: how to hold onto a lead. Less diplomatically: how not to choke.
“It’s a lot to do with focus, running plays and doing things right,” said Bailey, a 6-foot-1 forward who came out of the rich Mead High basketball pool. “All teams make those mistakes. So do we.
“We’ve had a legitimate team the past few years. We just haven’t been able to put things together.”
The Eagles have been moving in the right direction, despite their 0-2 start on the road this season. They were 8-18 Bailey’s freshman year and tied for eighth in the Big Sky Conference. They finished 11-15 her sophomore year and shoehorned their way into the Big Sky Conference tournament as the sixth seed at 7-9.
Unfortunately, for Bailey - a big reason why they got there - she had to sit out the conference tournament and the three games leading up to it because of a shoulder injury.
She’s healthy again but still feels pangs over some of last year’s close games that ended in defeat.
There was Gonzaga, which edged Eastern by one point after the Eagles were blown out by 17 earlier in the year. There was the collapse in Pullman, the Eagles leading Washington State by seven points with 1:45 left, only to lose on a buzzer-beater.
“Wazzu was a killer,” she said. “That one really hurts you.”
And then was the conference crusher, trailing mighty Montana by one point at the half before losing by 20.
So why does this happen, Dr.-Jung-in-training?
“I’d like to say I have the answer,” Bailey said. “I think part of it is we become more complacent. Or our team gets hurried sometimes. We get a little nervous in the close game. It comes down to people getting more comfortable, and we’re getting there.”
Like the time Eastern turned a close game against Weber State into a 19-point win. She considers the team’s last-season win over second-place Cal State Northridge as the “coming-out” game.
“We stomped them and we played Northern Arizona (next) and beat them, too.”
Bailey is one of two starters back from last year’s team, along with sophomore point guard Michelle Demetruk. She has played in 46 out of 49 games over two seasons. Rebounding is her thing, leading the team with 9.3 rebounds per game, second-best in the conference.
Scoring needs to become more of her thing. Twice last year, Bailey was named Big Sky Conference player of the week, averaging 13.5 and 16 points those weeks. Now that leading scorers Tracy Ford Phelps (13.4) and Julie Moore (10.4) have graduated, it’s up to Bailey to add to her 9.1 points-per-game average on a regular basis.
“I know that and I’m not scared of that,” Bailey said. “I know I can score. It’s a matter of doing it now.”
Assistant coach Anna West has all the confidence Bailey’s point average will increase.
“We looked at Tracy to score 14-18 points, but nobody looks to anybody this year,” West said. “You’d be surprised how much more smoothly your offense runs when you’re not looking to one person. But I do think Allie is going to end up being that person. She surprised herself, day in and day out.”
When she’s finished with basketball, Bailey said she plans on doing something in criminal or clinical psychology.
She said she’s even looked into sports psychology. If that’s the case, then Bailey will continue to learn on the job.