Basketball comes second to education in Spring:
ASHLEY BIUNDO SPORTS EDITOR:
The women’s basketball team is gearing up for the end of the season while beginning the spring semester. They are currently ranked 12th in the nation and have their expectations set high, according to Head Coach Shelley Ethridge. “Right now, we are just taking it one game at a time and hoping to continue to improve,” said Ethridge. “I have seen flashes that we can do something special at the end of the season, so that will be one of my personal goals but it really relies all on the kids.” Along with their expectations, the coaches work on keeping their players motivated during the spring semester, said Ethridge. The players are all self-motivated, she said. “They know that there is no substitute for hard work and it is demanded in our women’s basketball program,” said Ethridge. “So they come in and they bring it every day and that’s what I am proud of them for.” With motivation comes responsibility. The Lady Archers know that school comes before basketball, said Ethridge. “We typically are number one or two with all the sports with the highest-grade point average. We have mandatory study halls,” said Ethridge. “It is something that we take seriously. It is over basketball. Basketball is a close second, but they are well aware that they will not be on the court if they aren’t getting their academics taken care of.” Like all sports teams, they will still have their strengths and weaknesses, said Ethridge. “We are starting to peak at the right time. And that is always huge and now the team is starting to play for each other and we have really great chemistry going on. We are playing as a unit,” said Ethridge. There is always room for improvement, though, she said. “We need to improve our defense. We had a few defensive breakdowns,” said Ethridge, referring to the Jan. 16 game against Kaskaskia College, where the Archers won 82-58. “We will be at practice working on it again.” The Lady Archers have more upcoming games, including the Cancer Awareness game on Saturday,Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. on Forest Park Campus. Feb. 23 is their sophomore night and the last regular home game which is at 1 p.m. at Forest Park.
