Lady Eagles finish season strong, despite beginning on rocky road

By Sun Advocate

The College of Eastern Utah Lady Eagles officially wrapped up the year in St. George on Wednesday. The team traveled south to compete in post season action at the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament. The ladies first opponent was the Ricks College Vikings. Unfortunetly for the Eagles, the Vikings were just too strong to stop, with a Ricks College victory of 76-61.
The loss dropped the Eagles out of the tournament and sent the ladies home for the year. After struggling throughout much of the year, the completion of the season was quite successful for the Eagles. The team showed much improvement since the beginning of the season.
Although the Eagles tournament appearance did not end successful, the team did give the Vikings a run for their money. The Eagles competed strong against the Vikings. Late in the second half, the Vikings only lead the Eagles by five. With six minutes left, the Eagles completed three steals, unfortunatly the ladies did not convert on these Viking turnovers.
The Vikings then found themselves at the free throw line for four shots. Each shot was completed, shutting the door to any hopes of victory for the Eagles.
Megan Valgardson put on quite a performance at the SWAC tournament. Valgardson finished the game with 18 points to lead the Eagles in scoring.
Julianne Orgill, who has been a dominant force for the Eagles throughout the season, also finished the tournament game strong. Orgill completed the tournament with 16 points as she finished her CEU career off in style.
According to head coach Dave Paur, the team “finished strong despite beginning the season roughly. We had a tough draw at the tournament in the first round facing Ricks, who eventually won the tournament. Ricks was just the most talented team at the tourney. If we had won a few more games this season, maybe we would have avoided beginning the season against them.”
Although the team has had its ups and downs this season, the Lady Eagles did finish quite strong. Improvements have been made on all sides of the Eagles game at the end of the season.
“We need to look forward to next year when we will try to recruit more guards and shooters. If the girls that are returning continue to improve, we will have a successful season next year,” explained coach Paur.