CHADRON – The Chadron State College women’s basketball team will open its schedule Thursday night by playing an exhibition game against NCAA Division I stalwart Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
“We anticipate that BYU will be an extremely tough opponent,” said CSC coach Tim Connealy. “They’ll undoubtedly be bigger and more athletic, so we’ll have to pay attention to what we’ve been working on in practice and then execute it in the game.”
The Eagles have 11 players on the roster, five of them letter winners from a year ago when they finished 8-18.
The veterans are senior center Sadie Waugh, juniors Greer Babbe and Kattie Ranta and sophomores Dallas Shaw and Kate Simonton.
The roster also includes Lisa Durden, a junior transfer from Western Nebraska Community College; Hattie Guzman, a redshirt freshman; and four true freshmen—Abbie Alexander, Jazmin Lopez, Jamie McLain andElysha Stahla.
Connealy said the Eagles seem to have meshed well and formed positive team chemistry. He also said the players are learning to work hard, and that he’s pleased with how they rallied around each other during what he called “our tough preseason workouts.”
“If we get maximum effort from everybody in the games, I think we can be in the games down the stretch,” the coach said. “When that happens, a team can win by making a few good plays.”
Brigham Young is expected to have an outstanding season. Although last year’s top player, Kristan Riley (11.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game), has expended her eligibility, nine of the next 10 players on the scoring chart have returned.
Lexi Eaton, a 5-10 sophomore, averaged 10.5 points last year to lead the returnees in scoring. Next are 5-11 Kim Parker Beeston and 6-7 Jennifer Hamson at 9.5 points a game apiece.
The Cougars were 26-7 overall last season and 12-4 in the West Coast Conference. They are the defending WCC Tournament champions. Coach Jeff Judkins has a 231-115 record at BYU, making him the school’s winningest women’s basketball coach.
After the trip to Provo, the Eagles will play another exhibition game on Monday, Nov. 5 against the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The Lady Falcons were 6-24 a year ago. Both of last year’s leading scorers, 5-9 Alicia Leippronat at 12.7 points a game and 5-10 Dymond James at 12.4, have returned.
CSC’s first regular season game will be on Sunday, Nov. 11 at home against Montana State-Billings. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m.
CSC Sports Information