By Nicholas Slepnikoff
The women's basketball team recently kicked off their season Nov. 4 against Concordia University, and with the help of a new player, were able to snag a 63-53 victory.
Even though the Pilot squad played in a relatively quiet Chiles Center, many fans at the event cheered during the whole game as the women battled against Concordia.
In the first half, there was a lot of back and forth action between the teams, as blocked balls, missed shots and stray passes gave way to many turnovers.
The Pilots pressured early, defending past half court and putting a full court press on the Oregon opponent.
With a 30.8 field goal percentage for the first half from the key, the Pilots, although somewhat accurate, struggled to put the points on the board early.
This half ended in a 29-24 Concordia lead. After making a second half readjustment, the Pilots came out strong.
Increasing their field goal to 37.8 percent and sinking two 3-pointers, the Pilot women slowly pushed past Concordia.
After several key turnovers in the end and rough fouls from Concordia, the Pilot squad managed to secure the win.
New sophomore recruit Natalie Day, who recently became eligible to play this season, also played her first Pilot game last Wednesday.
In terms of strengths, Day thought the team capitalized on Concordia's turnovers.
Also, excited to be playing again, Day thought the game offered a good chance to become better by playing another team, instead of just practicing.
"It was a really good feeling," Day said, who was waived by the NCAA from completing a one year residence requirement for NCAA players.
Scoring 10 points from the paint, two free throws, grabbing two steals and with five rebounds on the night, Day was a versatile player last Wednesday.
"Every day we take mini steps, and I think she'll eventually be a very, very good player," Sollars said.
Sollars continued that Day needs to know how hard she needs to play. Once she has that, Sollars thought she'll be a great player.
"We're going to need her obviously at some point in time - she's got a nice shot, she's a good athlete, she's a good size, and she can play a lot of spots and so it makes sense," Sollars said.
In terms of the game itself, Sollars thought that the team struggled. But, he felt that the team could still improve
"We just have work to do," Sollars said. "I don't think we're in as good a shape as we need to be."
Moreover, Sollars thought the team didn't take care of the ball that well and needed to have more intensity in practice.
"We'll get better," Sollars said.
Senior Laiken Dollente also thought the team could have done better.
"It feels like we have a lot of work to do," Dollente said. "And I feel like we are a young team ... but we picked it up in the second half."
Dollente continued that her performance of 15 points on the night didn't matter, but instead she thought that they had to do a lot as a team first.
In the game, Pilot guard junior Tara Cronin helped the team defensively. With quick feet and even quicker hands, Cronin captured 13 rebounds on the night. According to Sollars, Cronin was recovering from a recent injury, and did a great job in the game.
