Only one speed for Eastern senior Chadd

If game uniforms were used in basketball practice and you only watched Joanna Chadd you would never know if it was a Monday afternoon or a Saturday night.

To the Eastern Washington senior, there’s only one way to go about things on the basketball court – full out.

“She’s just driven,” Eagles coach Wendy Schuller said. “She wants to be the best at everything, whether it’s a chemistry test or shooting free throws at the end of practice. I’ve never seen her take a drill off.

“She’s a special, special person and player. She’s just a joy to coach.”

Saturday’s home win over Portland State was Chadd’s 110th game as an Eagle, putting her 10th on the career list. With four regular-season games left she’ll end up fourth and keep moving up in other categories. She’s also in the top 10 for steals, assists and 3-point shots, attempts and percent.

Chadd has accomplished all that – and carries a 3.97 grade-point average in exercise science – despite being forced to start at point guard her first two seasons and then getting switched to shooting guard for her last two.

“She was a point guard in high school, but deep down she was a shooting guard we made into a point guard,” Schuller said. “She did a great job those two years she did play the point. I think by the end of her sophomore year she was probably where she was going to be as a point.

“I thought she’d be more comfortable, enjoy her career more. She’s a kid that’s really hard on herself.”

Chadd agreed.

“When I step on the floor I think of myself as a guard,” she said. “Right now I’m more of a shooting. I don’t think of myself as a point guard, but if I’m in that role I don’t mind.

“I really enjoyed the switch. It took a lot of pressure off me because I put a lot of pressure on myself. At first I was (thinking failure) but I realized where my strengths lie. I love to run the floor, run hard, come off screens.”

Her only regret is the Eagles are in danger of missing the Big Sky tournament for the first time in her career.

“I think ultimately it’s an overall belief and confidence. I think that’s one of the weaknesses with our team, ” she said. “I think it comes down to the little things. I think in college you forget why you were so good in high school … you just go through practice, drift. Some people aren’t sure what it’s like to work that hard.”

That certainly isn’t a self diagnosis.

Swan songs

Two senior nights hit this week with Gonzaga and Washington State finishing up their regular seasons before league tournaments.

Gonzaga has a two-game lead over San Diego, Thursday’s opponent, in its quest for a third straight West Coast Conference championship.

Stephanie Hawk, Katie Ridenour and Simone Santos will be honored in Saturday’s game against San Francisco, the first trip home for Dons’ freshman Heidi Heintz (Central Valley).

The Cougars seniors are Kate Benz, who needs five rebounds to break the school career record, and Mead graduate Adriane Ferguson, who is doubtful for the Oregon-Oregon State series with a stress fracture.

Ferris grad Brynn Kelly returned from a stress fracture in her foot in time for Davidson’s Senior Night on Feb. 10. The 75-52 win over Georgia Southern was the Wildcats’ school-record 19th. Davidson is 20-7, 11-5 in the Southern Conference, with two games left.

Tip-ins

WSU’s Saturday game with OSU is on Fox Sports at 1 p.m. … GU’s Stephanie Hawk is the WCC Player of the Week for the fourth time this season. … GU’s string of league titles is the longest in the WCC since Santa Clara won four through 1991. … EWU has not missed the Big Sky tournament since 1999.

GU freshman Heather Bowman (Lewis and Clark) leads the conference in scoring for league games at 16.9 with Hawk second at 16.6. … Eastern has shot 78.3 percent from the line the last nine games after shooting 65.9 percent prior to that. … San Diego has 20 wins for the first time. … Cameo Hicks of Washington and Mandy Morales of Montana are among the final 10 for the Nancy Lieberman Award as the best point guard in the country. … Chandice Cronk of Santa Clara has tied former Zag Jessica Malone’s WCC record of 90 3-pointers in a season.