Under 20^th year head coach Wendy Schuller, the Eastern Washington University women's basketball team is prepping and eager to get an unprecedented season underway.
 
The 2020-21 edition of Eagle women's basketball boasts eight returners and eight newcomers who look to make strides from where they left off last season, and they won't take a moment for granted while doing so.
 
"It's been awesome to have the team back together again, it's been great," said Schuller. "One of the things that I think we've learned is to be really thankful for things that we've taken for granted in the past. We've learned to really appreciate being together and being on our floor practicing as a group."
 
Just like all of college basketball, navigating a season during a world-wide pandemic will undoubtedly bring challenges and changes, something the Eagles have already learned to deal with this season. Eastern Washington's previously announced season openers at Washington State (moved to Dec. 22, 2020 in Pullman) and Oregon State (Canceled) have been affected due to COVID-19 protocols, so the Eagles have set their sights on Big Sky Conference foe Northern Arizona, who heads to Cheney on Dec. 3 and 5.
 
With an even mix of newcomers and returners, Eagle fans can expect to see a lot of versatility out of the squad as the team continues to grow and meld together throughout the season, something Schuller expects her returning core to help with greatly.
 
"The season is a process. We talk every day to our team about trusting the process and getting a little bit better day-by-day and not expecting it to come all at once. I have to remind myself and our coaching staff the same thing," said Schuller. "It helps a lot to have upperclassman that are totally bought in to what we're doing and being an Eagle. We expect them to teach the young ones that idea. It also helps to have newcomers who have really meshed well and are bought in and excited. We have some young players who are really talented."
 
THE 2020-21 CAMPAIGN: Big Sky Conference play will also look different due to a new conference format. The Eagles play the same opponents, besides Montana and Idaho, at the same site twice in one week, which reveals an interesting opportunity for teams.
 
"It's going to be interesting strategically to navigate," Schuller noted about playing the same conference opponent in back-to-back games. "But if you have multiple ways to defend or do things offensively, you can definitely throw different things at teams. When you're versatile it offers you the opportunity to adjust quickly. I think that it will be important to adjust within a day between Thursday and Saturday."
 
Eastern Washington hosts Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Montana State at Reese Court, while splitting contests on the road and home with Montana and Idaho. They will play Portland State, Southern Utah and Sacramento State on the road.
 
Non-conference wise, the Eagles will play Boise State in an annual matchup on the road on Dec. 10, and will also host Grand Canyon (Dec. 14) and Seattle (Dec. 19) before wrapping up non-conference play at Washington State on Dec. 22.
 
WELCOME BACK: The Eagles return three of their five starters this year in junior Grace Kirscher and sophomores, Jenna Dick and Kennedy Dickie.
 
Kirscher, who earned an Honorable Mention All-Big Sky nod as freshman, was the team's leading scorer last year with 10.7 points per game.
 
Both Dick and Dickie return after strong freshmen campaigns, and with them comes a spark behind the arc. Dick set an EWU freshman record last season with 70 made three-pointers, which is also the fourth-most in single-season history. She ranked in the top-ten nationally in three-point field goal percentage (44.3%) and averaged 9.6 points per game.
 
Dickie averaged 9.5 points per game last season and was second on the team in rebounding with 5.0 per contest.
 
Together, the trio of returning starters combined for 166 of the team's 243 three-pointers, something that Schuller looks forward to again this season.
 
"We return some very talented guards. It's been fun to watch them grow their games," Schuller noted. "Jenna and Kennedy are still babies in a sense, they're only sophomore, but they're more like juniors with the amount of minutes they've played and their experience."
 
Also returning for the Eagles is sophomore Alexyss Newman, redshirt-sophomores Tatiana Reese and Milly Knowles, and lone senior Cailyn Francis. Redshirt-freshman Gabrielle Jung is also back.
 
NEW EAGS: Eastern Washington has eight new faces on this year's roster, made up of five true freshman and three junior transfers.
 
Aaliyah Alexander (Federal Way, Wash. / Todd Beamer HS), Maisie Burnham (Spangle, Wash. / Liberty HS), Núria Cunill (Berga, Spain / Institut Guillem de Bergueda), Bella Pedrojetti (Medford, Ore. / South Medford HS) and Kallie Schaplow (Toledo, Wash. / Toledo HS) make up the core of true freshman.
 
"All of our young players have already come in ready to do great things and are prepared. You can tell how hard they worked in the offseason," noted Schuller. "They've been great additions in practice because they challenge people and they're true Eagles - they play the way we want to play basketball. They're outstanding young ladies and great teammates, but basketball wise they can do some things and will help us immediately."
 
The Eagles will also find depth in junior transfers Megan Fossen (Medford, Ore. / Lane CC), Tarryn Hart (Wapato, Wash. / Yakima CC) and Britt Van Buren (Santa Paula, Calif. / Moorpark College).
 
The coaching staff also has two new faces in assistant coaches Shannon Donegan and Nicole Mitchell, who being their first seasons as Eagles. Bryce Currie, who is in his seventh season on staff, was also elevated to Associate Coach during the offseason.
 
SCHULLER'S 20^TH SEASON: This season, Coach Schuller and the entire EWU athletic department also celebrates Schuller's 20^th season at Eastern Washington. In addition to making impacts on hundreds of Eagles throughout her tenure, she has seen success on the court.
 
The Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 2009-10, Schuller has coached in 576 games at Eastern Washington. She has coached two Big Sky MVP's, three defensive MVP's, two Freshmen of the Year, and one Newcomer and Top Reserve of the year to go with 43 other All-Big Sky honors, an Olympian and two all-time EWU leading scorers.
 
Off the court, Schuller has put an emphasis on community service and academics. Her teams have averaged 275 hours of community service each season and have been recognized on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll in 16 out of the last 19 seasons.