They say numbers never lie. Well, maybe that’s a lie.

In the world of professional basketball, people love to talk about rings, specifically the number of rings.

People love to compare players by the number of rings they have, but here’s where numbers do lie: Adam Morrison, you probably remember for when he broke down and wept on the court after losing to UCLA while at Gonzaga, has two championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Morrison has more championship rings than Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller. Morrison, a player who only appeared in two of those playoff games, is higher on the list than a few of the all-time greats.

Still think numbers don’t lie?

The Eastern women’s soccer team is currently sitting at a deceiving 1-4.

I say deceiving, because this team can easily have a few more tacked on to the win column or at least a few could have ended in draws.

The first game of the season was Iowa, and that one is excusable. It is Iowa after all.

The second one against Purdue was a few minutes from being a draw, and I’m sure the Panthers would take a draw against a Big Ten team.

The last two losses, Northern Iowa and Indiana State, could have gone either way.

Both goals came late in the match, Northern Iowa’s sending it into overtime, Indiana State’s late goal won it for them.

What I’m getting at is that this team is much better than its record, and much better than it looks on paper.

The Panthers have a few more weeks of non-conference play to work out the kinks, and I’m confident they can do it.

Literally minutes have separated this team from different results in its first five games.

These minutes are important, but I think for the Panthers to be successful, they might have to get it done in 90 minutes, not 110.

The fans are loving all the free soccer, but the players aren’t. Caitlin Greene and Karlee Deacon both said they hope they never have to play another overtime game this season, and I would guess the attitude is the same around the rest of the Panther locker room.

In just the month of August, the Panthers had already played more extra soccer than they have in the last two seasons combined. A definite change of pace.

So what’s it going to take for the Panthers to get back on track?

Head coach Summer Perala says the team needs to eliminate stupid mistakes and get a quicker jump on the ball. Evansville, Northern Illinois, Butler and Drake aren’t exactly pushover games, but they’ll be a good tune-up for Ohio Valley Conference play.

Don’t count the Panthers out quite yet. The team is a lot better than 1-4. Numbers do lie. Trust me.

This 1-4 Panthers team is not a 1-4 team. They’re better than that, and they’ll prove it.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].