The Lady Eagles are playing a lot better than their record would have you believe. They will enter December with a 3-6 record after losing a couple of close games early in the season. Excluding a 16 point loss to MidAmerica Nazarene on Nov. 13, the Eagles have lost five games by an average of 2.6 points.
“We had slow starts [and] we came back but we could never get over the edge,” said Jeff Soderquist, women’s head coach. “We’re a couple of possessions away from being really good.”
Soderquist said one of the keys to improving the team’s record is making better offensive reads in late game situations.
In that area, the early losses might have some side-benefit.
“The more you’re in those situations, the more you know what to do,” said Soderquist.
Another key is playing consistently solid defense throughout the game.
“I think our defense is good, but your defense is only as good as your rebounding,” said Soderquist. “At times we look pretty good; we’re just not putting it all together for a full game.”
On Tuesday the Eagles fell in another close loss, 57-56, at Lyon.
Up next for John Brown is a home game against Ecclesia on Dec. 4. After that the Lady Eagles will head to Missouri for a two-game road trip on Dec. 7 and 8 to finish their non-conference schedule.
Conference games do not start until next year, a late start compared to past years.
Soderquist said the late start to the conference schedule gives more time for improvements and preparation.
“It kind of breaks up the season. You have non-conference … then you have Christmas break and you come back for conference,” said Soderquist. “There’s a different level [and] there’s a different intensity when you get into conference play.”