Improving Eagles ready for conference play
With a pair of close wins pushing its record to 6-7, the Eastern Washington women’s basketball team is ready for its second season.
The Eagles begin Big Sky Conference play at home Saturday afternoon against Portland State (6-6).
“We’re getting better every time out, which is what you want to do this time of year,” coach Wendy Schuller said. “I would be worried if we were playing our best right now.”
The Eagles are in the midst of an 11-day layoff to work on areas of concern. Eastern, 1-6 when scoring less than 60 points, is shooting just 37.5 percent from the field with 23 turnovers a game, leading to an average of just 58.7 points a game.
“When we score, we’re all right,” Schuller said. “It’s taken us a little time to figure out where that scoring is going to come from. We’ve got to be able to put the ball in the basket. Part of that is shot selection … (and) turnovers are always an issue with us.”
Joanna Chadd leads the Eagles at 11.5 points a game, shooting 44.6 percent from 3-point range. EWU has scored a 3 in 124 straight games, the best streak in the league. However, Felice Moore, who is closing in on 500 rebounds, is out indefinitely with ligament damage to her left thumb.
The defense is improving. Opponents are shooting just 37.3 percent, turning the ball over 19 times a game and averaging 64.3 points.
“We’re starting to find our identity, kids are figuring out where they fit into things,” Schuller said. “I still think we’re pretty talented and have a chance to do things. We haven’t played nearly as well as I think we can.”
The Eagles will have to step up now because the league appears to be pretty strong.
Montana (11-2) is again the class of the league with eight straight wins since freshman point guard Mandy Morales, who originally signed at Arizona State, joined the lineup. She is averaging 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists.
Northern Arizona (8-5), another preseason favorite, is winning with a difficult schedule.
Vandal champs honored
Idaho (5-8, 1-1) is honoring the 1985-86 team that won the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.
That team went 26-5 under coach Pat Dobratz, beating Fresno State, Notre Dame and Northwest Louisiana in the WNIT.
The team will be honored at halftime of the Nevada (3-10, 0-2) game on Thursday with a ceremony for Dobratz at halftime of the Utah State (1-11, 0-2) game on Saturday. Both games start at 7 p.m.
Dobratz coached the Vandals from 1980-86, compiling a six-year record of 142-39. Three times the Vandals won at least 26 games and played in the 1985 NCAA tourney. A Friday luncheon at the University Inn and reception after Saturday’s game are open to the public.
Look ahead
Gonzaga (7-10, 2-0) takes its three-game winning streak on the road to face Pepperdine (4-11, 1-1) on Thursday and Loyola Marymount (8-7, 2-0) Saturday afternoon. Loyola, one of the league favorites, is the only West Coast Conference school with a winning record after opening league with two road wins. GU senior Ashley Anderson was named the WCC Player of the Week after a pair of double-doubles, averaging 20 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 59 percent with six assists and five steals. She shared the honor with LMU’s Ashlee Dunlap, who also had two double-doubles … Washington State (6-8, 0-5) stays at home to face USC (10-5, 4-2) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and UCLA (9-6, 4-2) on Saturday at 2. The L.A. schools, both ranked earlier this season, just knocked off visiting Arizona State. The 9th-ranked Sun Devils (12-3, 3-2) tumbled from first in the Pac-10 to sixth.
Looking around
Angela Hartill, a freshman from Deer Park, played 10 scoreless minutes for No. 21 New Mexico in its 59-42 win over No. 22 Utah. Hartill has played in every game for the Lobos, averaging 3.2 points and 1.2 rebounds in 12.6 minutes … Ferris grad Brynn Kelly, a junior, is the leading rebounder for Davidson at 6.4. The junior also scores 7.3 points a game for the Wildcats, who have won five straight to improve to 7-6, 3-1 in the Southern Conference going into a Monday game … Jenna Griffitts, a freshman from Coeur d’Alene, has started every game for Weber State (6-7), averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds in 25-plus minutes … Jeni Boesel, a Brewster native and transfer from North Idaho College, has started 13 of 14 games for Idaho State (6-8), averaging 11.9 points in 34.7 minutes a game. She leads the Bengals with 56 assists.
Tip-ins
Lauren Frazee, a 6-foot sophomore post from California, has left the Idaho basketball team for personal reasons. Frazee, who played in 24 games as a freshman, had played in five games this season, averaging 1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds … Louisiana Tech is the class of the WAC but Idaho’s first trip to Ruston, despite a 76-68 loss, was promising if only because the Lady Techsters have lost just 26 home games in 32 years with 105 straight conference wins … . With 49 points last week, Leilani Mitchell moved into 10th on Idaho’s all-time list with 1,219. Mitchell has 262 steals, 21 shy of passing Christy Van Pelt for the school record … UI sophomore Jessica Summers is averaging 12 rebounds in the last four games … After struggling from behind the arc against Gonzaga, Santa Clara edged Portland 74-73 when Ashley Graham scored 33 points, hitting a school record nine 3’s.