By Elohino Theodore
The top three scorers for the Eastern women’s basketball team have one thing in common: They score in more than one way.
According to Basketball HQ writer Kyle Ohman, a former college basketball player from Liberty University, to be a great offensive athlete, versatility is the key.
Ohman states that every athlete obviously has strengths and weaknesses, but the goal is to work on weaknesses in order to add more skills. Ohman explains in basketball, to be an effective offensive athlete, players cannot only limit themselves to scoring in one way.
The EWU women’s basketball team currently has three athletes who have versatile scoring abilities due to the points they are averaging this season. Junior guard Lexie Nelson is currently averaging 17.8 points per game. Nelson is also currently shooting 50.3 percent in field goals this season and 47.2 percent behind the 3-point line.
As a skilled offensive player, Nelson understands tactics the team does in order to get easy baskets. “We move the ball well. [Teammates] get me good looks, so I just knock them down,” Nelson said.
Before this season began, Nelson made sure to work on her game in order to become a better athlete on the court. “I made sure this summer I worked hard and tried to improve my skills. I think my shooting has improved well, my teammates, they get me open, they get me those shots,” Nelson said.
The second current leading scorer on the team this season is sophomore guard Hayley Hodgins. She is averaging 13.5 points per games, with shooting 45.1 percent in field goals and 45.8 percent in 3-pointers.
According to Hodgins, she has a few moves she likes to use on the court to get herself going offensively. “If I can’t shoot the three, I like the one dribble pull up. I just kind of added that this year and just keep trying to build on it,” Hodgins said.
The pull-up jump shot in basketball is a good weapon to use, especially in close game situations because of how difficult it is to guard. Hodgins added this jump shot to her skillset. “Definitely just shooting is one of my strengths. But, I think I kind of added a pull-up game to my game this year and I think that [has] really helped me get more shots than just threes,” Hodgins said.
She mentions that attending Eastern improved her offensive game because other teams try to prepare for what she likes to do offensively. “Coming here I just had to learn to score in different ways because [other teams do] scout,” Hodgins said.
The third leading scorer on the team is 6’2” senior center Laura Hughes. She is currently averaging 14.9 points per game, shooting 58.3 percent in field goals. Hughes explains that she plays hard in the post in order to get good shots. Another way that she gets easy baskets is that teammates are constantly looking to find her under the hoop.
This season, Hughes has had multiple games where she played well offensively; a few games stand out to her. “I would say against SMU or [our] last game against [Sacramento] State are probably my best ones,” Hughes said. She scored a point total of 38 points in both games.
Together all three Eagles are averaging a combined 46.2 points per game. Nelson is currently shooting 88.4 percent for free throws. Hodgins is shooting 87.0 percent at the foul line, while Hughes is averaging 71.4 percent behind the foul line.
