Spring Break
Women's Basketball Notebook: Coach feared injury would return
Collin Whitchurch / Assistant Sports Editor
Issue date: 2/11/09 Section: Sports
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It was around that time that Thomas started experiencing back pain, and Sallee started getting nervous that she might have a recurrence of the injury she sustained in the summer of 2007, when she fractured a vertebra in her back.
"I think at that point as somebody who has been (coaching) for 16 or 17 years, I was a little nervous about going down that same road," Sallee said. "I kind of saw that it could be a possibility and behind-the-scenes we started pushing (freshman guards Pilar Walker and Madeline Kish and freshman forward Chantelle Pressley) a little knowing their numbers could be called in case her back started acting up."
Sallee said Thomas' value to the team cannot be measured in points, rebounds or assists, but she affects the game in other ways.
"She's a kid that probably runs our offense as well as anybody," he said. "She understands how to play our system and rarely makes mistakes. Defensively, we can put her on the other team's best player most of the time."
Sallee said he was happy that Kish, Walker and Pressley were able to perform well in last Wednesday's victory against Illinois-Chicago, especially since he did not learn Thomas would miss the game until 6 p.m. the night before. Still, he knows the freshmen, as well as many others, will have to continue to step up in Thomas' absence down the road.
Home streak aided by crowd
Senior guard Megan Edwards gives the Lantz Arena crowd all the credit for the team's home winning streak, which, at 19, has moved up to the fifth-longest active streak in the nation.
"I love this crowd," Edwards said after the Panthers rolled to No. 19, a 73-53 win against Southeast Missouri last Saturday. "It really is the reason why we're winning so many games because we feed off of their energy and when they come, even if it's just a group of 20 of them or if it's a full house, their energy is amazing and we feed off of that."
Sallee said he does not think a streak like they have would happen if it were not for the support of the fans.
"The streak we have at home doesn't happen playing in front of an empty gym," he said. "It's the whole atmosphere. It's the band. It's the crowd. It's the community. The students are getting behind us and our kids feed into it. They love it."
The longest current streak in the nation belongs to the No. 1 nationally ranked Connecticut Huskies with 35 consecutive home victories. Hartford is No. 2 with 34 in a row, Maryland and Stanford rank No's 3 and 4, respectively, with 29 and 24 consecutive home wins.
Hayes on roll for Murray State
Murray State senior forward Ashley Hayes has been unstoppable lately.
Hayes, who leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring at 23.2 points per game, just completed the two best consecutive scoring games in Racers history, putting up 46 points in Murray State's win against Tennessee State last Wednesday before scoring 36 in a win against Austin Peay last Saturday.
Hayes has been the spark plug behind a Racers squad that has won nine consecutive games and sits in first place in the OVC, a half-game ahead of the Panthers.
While she scored only 16 points in Eastern's first game against the Racers on Jan. 22, she made a huge difference in the game as the Panthers swarmed her with two defenders every time she touched the ball, leaving several of her teammates with open shots.
The Racers won that game 60-51 in Murray, Ky.
The Panthers will get their shot at revenge against the Racers on Feb. 21, when the Panthers host the Racers in Lantz Arena at 3 p.m.
Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or at cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.
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