This season the introduction for the SIU Women's basketball team has a nice ring to it- "Defending Valley Champs". Not that Dana Eikenberg would dwell on that for even a second. When asked about coming back from the MVC title run she said "We know that the mark is on our back, but my intensity and hunger to make the program the best in the Valley on a consistent basis hasn't changed and I don't expect our players (intensity) to change either"
Coming off of a 21 win season with three returning starters Coach Eikenberg has lined up a non-conference schedule that she describes as "suicide" in November. The Saluki Women will play 4 NCAA Tournament teams and the NAIA National Champions from last season. Included in that stretch is a match up in Champaign against the University of Illinois.
This team has 6 incoming freshmen and Eikenberg sees at least 4 of them contributing right away. Such a large class will be a major part of the future of the program and Eikenberg has posed the question for the newcomers-"Do you want to be the most successful class in the history of the program?" Starting with Harris-Stowe on Nov. 1st they will get a chance to answer that question on the court.
Senior Guard/Forward Jayme Sweere will play a huge role on the team this season. Jayme is the leading returning scorer and coming off of an MVC All-Second team selection in 2007. When asked about her role with the freshman she said "after four years with Dana I have a pretty good feel of her expectations, and I feel like I can give the freshmen good insight into what (Eikenberg) expects from them and what they are capable of."
Expect a deeper rotation this season allowing for increased defensive intensity, which could allow the team to push the ball more in transition. For a team that had problems scoring at times last year, more fastbreak points could make the difference in a few games this year. Basketball fans can count on another exciting season from the Women's team this year as they look for back to back conference titles and an NCAA Tournament bid.
