Panthers go for 7th home win in a row
Eastern senior forward Sydney Mitchell is having a rollercoaster season, battling injuries, trying to play and working to stay in shape.
The ride might be over though, if the last two games are any indication.
Mitchell raked up double digits in points and rebounds each of the last two games.
“She’s starting to look like the Sydney of old,” Eastern head coach Lee Buchanan said.
Looking like the “Sydney of old” is a good thing for Mitchell, who is nearing 1,000 points in her career, and for the Panthers.
The better Mitchell is, the more depth the Panthers have on their roster, especially because of her versatility playing two positions — wing and power forward.
She started the season off slowly, trying to get back from an injury that lingered most of the offseason.
Over the holiday school break, Buchanan said Mitchell was about 80 percent healthy from her injury — but she wasn’t in game shape.
“She would be gassed,” Buchanan said.
Now, she’s been doing some extra running to help her recover, although Buchanan said he doesn’t think she’ll ever be 100 percent. That said, where she is now is helping the Panthers.
“She has kind of knocked off some of the rust,” Buchanan said. “When any player has an injury, coming off of it is as much about the mental than the physical.”
Buchanan said Mitchell is starting to feel more comfortable getting banged around in the paint and hitting the floor.
She’s shown that, grabbing career-high 15 rebounds in Saturday’s road win over Austin Peay.
Mitchell will try for her third consecutive double-double on Saturday against Southeast Missouri, a team that comes into Lantz Arena having gotten some of its players healthy, too.
The Redhawks’ Brittany Harriel broke her hand early in the season, which sidelined her for most of the first half of the season.
Harriel, the team’s third best scorer after only playing in 12 games, is healthy and is one of the players to watch on Saturday.
Together, Harriel and Patricia Mack create a nice low post duo for the Redhawks.
Mack is the Redhawks’ best rebounder, averaging 9.6 rebounds per game (or nearly one-fourth of the team’s total rebounds).
Buchanan said the Panthers’ defense would have to force the Redhawks to take shots over the defense, putting them in tight situations.
The Redhawks come into the game with a 2-4-conference record, second-to-last in the West Division, but Buchanan said it’s an important game.“Every night is like a championship game,” Buchanan said.
A win would keep the Panthers on pace to be one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. Right now, the Panthers are tied for first in the West Division with a 5-2-conference record.
Saturday’s game is set to begin at 4 p.m. in Lantz Arena.
Alex McNamee can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].
