Spring Break
Women's Basketball: Preseason serves as evaluation tool
Reserves, role players get chance to earn playing time
Scott Richey/ Sports Editor
Issue date: 11/5/08 Section: Sports
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Senior forward Rachel Galligan will score from inside and out and snare rebounds in the paint. Senior guard Ellen Canale will provide strong defense and be a 3-point threat. Senior guard Megan Edwards will drive the Panthers offense and senior forward Lindsey Kluempers will rebound, play tough defense and score from the perimeter. Junior guard Dominique Sims rounds out the starting five with playmaking and rebounding prowess.
Eastern's game against Saint Joseph's College at 7 p.m. today at Lantz Arena will give Sallee a chance to evaluate his reserve players and see what they can add to the starters' production. Sallee said he uses exhibition games as a way to get some players he's not sure about production-wise playing time to see how they perform in a game situation.
He said he can get a good look at who performs and who is productive.
"These are definitely all good to just get a snapshot of your whole team," Sallee said about exhibition games. "It's another evaluation tool we can use going into the regular season to determine what our rotation will be."
That rotation includes junior forward Maggie Kloak and junior guard Ashley Thomas. Next on the list is junior guard Lauren Sturtevant, who Sallee said has the most to prove this season.
"She has ability to do a lot of things for us," Sallee said about Sturtevant. "Her versatility is something we desperately need. At the end of the day she's got to produce."
Sturtevant produced in the Panthers' 86-37 exhibition win against Brescia on Sunday afternoon. She played 23 minutes, made both of her shots for four points and had seven assists, six rebounds and two blocks.
Sallee said Sturtevant has to come in ready to play and not necessarily worry about making shots but focus more on making an impact in some aspect of the game.
"If she can do that, that just solidifies our rotation," Sallee said. "With Ellen's and Dominique's propensity to foul, we need her to be able to play some significant minutes for us this year and really make us that much deeper."
The Panthers also got production from two of their newest players. Freshman guard Pilar Walker played 15 minutes and had four rebounds, three assists, two turnovers and one steal. On one series, Walker drove to the basket for a contested lay-up and then took a charge on Eastern's next defensive play.
"It's nice to have a young point guard in the program that can play without turning (the ball) over," Sallee said. "That was probably the most impressive thing about her night. She just went in and did what we needed her to do - took care of the ball, made some nice passes and recognized when she could get to the rim."
Sallee said he thought Pilar started the game a little tentative but that was expected since it was her first collegiate game. He said she got more comfortable as the game progressed.
"Clearly we saw some things in her that get us excited for the future," Sallee said about Walker. "She definitely will have to play some minutes for us behind (Edwards). The better she can play, the better off we're going to be."
Sallee said he was also pleased with how freshman forward Chantelle Pressley played against Brescia. She had three points, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes played.
"I think everyone can see the potential there ¬- long and athletic and just can make things happen," Sallee said about Pressley. "I thought she played aggressive and played hard and really that's all we ask of them right now. We're just in a situation where those freshmen can kind of learn and get comfortable before they get thrown out in the fire."
Scott Richey can be reached at 581-7944 or at srrichey@eiu.edu.
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