The Jamestown Eagles girls basketball team has seen a lot of improvement so far this season.
After going 2-21 last season, the Eagles have already won more games this year; the team currently has a healthy record of 5-7.
Eagles head coach Melvin Myers, who is in his first year as the coach for the Eagles, said the players are happy but are not ready to get complacent.
“They’re happy to be 5-7 after going 2-21 (last year), but they are not satisfied with where we are,” Myers said. “2-21 is a long season, and the season is not as long if you are winning. Man, we have a lot of season to go and a lot of goals that we need to reach. But overall, they have come a long way.”
The team had some struggles early on, starting out with a 2-6 record after a 54-29 loss Dec. 21 to St. Elizabeth. Since then, the team has bounced back in a big way, winning three of its last four games including a 58-51 win Jan. 12 over Versailles. The rebound also included a second-place finish Jan. 9 at the Stover Tournament.
Myers said as the season has moved along, the team has improved with how it handles pressure. The team is also playing faster and is more familiar with the defensive system it has in place.
“That was a problem early on in the season; not the case now,” Myers said. “We have picked up our offensive tempo and are playing a lot faster. The players have also caught on to my defensive system, and that has helped with us providing constant defensive pressure on the ball.”
Myers said he likes how the players have bought into what he has asked them to do, and he likes the effort they are giving.
“They have not been asked to play like this before and it’s not easy,” Myers said. “It is hard work to play defense like we want to. Everyone has been giving me max effort, and that is all I can ask. I think this year, we have been in every game except for one in, which we were missing our point guard who is our leading scorer and makes our team go.”
There is still room for improvement for the team. Myers said he would like to see the players work on staying out of foul trouble and limiting turnovers. He said he would also like to keep their opponents to less than 40 points a game.
As the season continues, Myers said he would like to see the players continue to learn what it takes to win.
“We need to put a streak together if we want to reach the goals we have for this season,” Myers said. “I believe they are capable of doing that.”
The Eagles’ next game is at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 at Westran.