EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton girls basketball team has come a long way since a 4-14 season just a few years ago.
The Eagles are off to a blistering 7-0 start after besting Smith Academy in dominant fashion with a 55-18 win on Wednesday night. It’s hard to find fault in any aspect of the Eagles’ game – they have a deep bench, putting 16 different players out on the floor during their game against the Falcons, and regularly rotating 14 different players onto the court. Their offense is multi-pronged and deadly, with players able to knock down triples or convert on fast break points, and their defense is just as strong, whether that’s a press that forces an opponent to buckle, or a suffocating presence in their opponent’s offensive zone.
It’s all clicking for the Eagles, and it’s one of the most successful starts that Easthampton head coach Brian Miller has seen in his 23 years of coaching basketball.
“One year, I think we were 13-0 with the boys,” said Miller, who used to coach the Easthampton boys team before taking over the girls program three seasons ago.
Could this team replicate that kid of a start?
“I think we’re trending that way,” Miller offered. “The girls are playing well, they’re excited, they work hard in practice… that’s our goal. I’m excited the way they practice and play and bolster each other. It’s fun.”
Part of this year’s success has come, ironically, because of last year’s unusual season. With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the number of games they could play, the Eagles were able to focus on additional skills and fundamentals that otherwise may have gotten lost in a full season.
“Last year was kind of a blessing for us, because we got to just work on skills and focus on shooting and ball handling and doing things like that,” Miller said. “We were in here five days a week, two hours, working on skills that they maybe didn’t develop when they were younger. I think our ball handling is a lot better. We shot hundreds of shots every day. And now we average (around) six or seven threes a game, so it definitely made some difference.”
While it was more of a silver lining than a blessing – not being able to play as many games or a regular season is still incredibly hard – those hours of practice are paying off in a major way for this season’s Eagles. Senior Ness Bentley said she hasn’t had a start like this in her high school career, and that impressive beginning to the season has been a welcomed surprise.
“As much as it is coaching, it is as like a family, like we’ve all grown together. We’ve all done things outside of school basketball to grow as a team. I think our chemistry is really good this year,” Bentley said on the reason for this team’s success. “I think everyone individually is stepping up, not even as a team, but individuals are coming up and they’re putting their best foot forward. So I’m very proud of what we’ve become. We started off 4-14 my freshman year, and we’re [7-0] right now.”
Because of the depth that they do have, the Eagles are able to run a unique offense where they can substitute all five players on the court at a time. Swapping out an entire lineup has allowed the squad to push 100 percent for the four or so minutes they’re on the court, and allows everyone to take a breather so that they’re rested whenever they do check into the game.
“I think it helps create the pressure to be able to get steals and get hyped up… and get us scoring opportunities,” junior Lauren Morse said. “(It) also helps having the five [players] on because they have fresh legs, so we’re not as tired doing the whole court [press], which I think helps a lot.”
Between that offense and their stifling defense, the Eagles are going to be tough to ground this year. Only time will tell how far they can go, but so far, it looks like it’s going to take a tough team to stop their roll.
The next scheduled game for the Eagles comes Monday night against Renaissance.