By Con Marshall
After running short of players in several games about midseason a year ago when injuries took their toll, Chadron State College women’s basketball coach Travis Brewster has worked hard to make sure that doesn’t happen again in 2024-25.
Brewster said he’s signed 11 newcomers. He also noted that most, if not all, of the players who were sidelined at various times a year ago have recovered and plan play again this coming season. There are nine of them, giving the Eagles a 20-player roster.
“The signees are excited to be coming to Chadron State and we’re excited to have them,” Brewster said. “I think we’ve got a good group that will help us play with great tenacity and make us a better team. I’m also sure we’ll have competitive practice and I know we’ll have a lot more depth.”
The returnees will include the likes of leading scorer Shay Powers (12.3 ppg), along with fellow seniors Olivia Waufle and Kylie Krise, along with sophomores Megan Counts, Liberty Line and Allison Olsen. All of them were in the team’s primary rotation and averaged at least seven points a game.
Injuries and illness kept some of them from reaching their potential. It was a long season. The final record was just 6-20. The Eagles would have won more games if they’d stayed healthy.
One thing Brewster looked for was more height. Much of last season, the Eagles’ tallest player on the court was 5-10.
His newcomers in the front court include 6-foot-2 McKenzie Peterson, who shot 54% from the field, averaged 15.2 points and 7 rebounds while earning First-Team All-Conference at Dawson Community College in Montana last season. Brewster said he is impressed by how well she runs the floor and her team orientation.
The coach also landed 6-1 Malorie Bryne from Arvada West in Colorado, where she averaged 10 points and was selected to play in the state’s all-star game. Tyra Ericksson, a native of Sweden, also is 6-1 and has the strength and ability to create mismatches, Brewster said.
The backcourt recruits include highly-regarded Allison Richards, a 5-6 graduate of the Red Cloud School at Pine Ridge, S.D., and a First-Team All-Region choice both of her seasons at Northeast Community College at Norfolk.
Last season, Richards averaged 23.9 points, fifth highest in NJCAA II in the nation, despite being the target of what Brewster calls “junk defenses” in nearly every game. She shot 40.3% from 3-point range while nailing 92 of them and was 108-136 from the free throw line for 79.4%.
“Both her high school and college coaches have nothing but praise for her and I can see why,” Brewster said.
Another guard with college experience is 5-6 Jordyn Stokes. She played the past two seasons at Iowa Lakes College at Estherville, where she averaged 10.6 points and was Third-Team All-Region last winter.
As Chadron State fans already know, the Eagles’ freshman class will include 5-10 Demi Ferguson, the leading scorer at Chadron High each of the past four years and a 1,000-point career scorer. As a senior in 2023-24, she averaged 13.9 points and 7.7 rebounds and this week is playing in the Nebraska Coaches Association All-Star Game in Lincoln.
Brewster said Ferguson’s “mindset and grit” are impressive.
Another incoming freshman who signed early with the Eagles is Ryann Barry of Pierre, S.D. One of the Riggs High School football coaches contacted Brewster about her the soon after the CSC coach accepted the Chadron State job late last summer.
It turns out that Barry not only was a basketball standout and a soccer all-stater, she also was the football team’s placekicker and booted 54 extra points last fall. The tipster said “she’s tough and has a big-time motor.”
Barry started every game for the Class AA Riggs High basketball team her final three seasons. As a senior, she averaged 11.3 points, 4.6 rebounds. 4.0 assists and 3.1 steals while helping Riggs finish fifth at the state tournament with a 17-7 record.
Not all of the recruits are mentioned in this article, but Brewster said each of them will have the opportunity to contribute this coming season and in the future. “We went after players who their coaches said have a strong work ethic, are team-oriented, are athletic and are good students,” Brewster noted. “Of course, not all of them will start or probably even play this year. Some of them will undoubtedly redshirt. But my staff and I are looking forward to working with them and helping them enjoy and benefit from their college experience at Chadron State.”