As young players, adjusting to a new coach can be the most challenging thing in collegiate sports and for the Georgia Southern women’s basketball team, it was just that.

The team finished the season with a 7-22 overall record and closed out the year on a seven game losing streak. The disappointing part about that isn’t their record, but the fact they controlled their destiny leading up to tournament placement. It was an opportunity that slipped out their hands.

With all the adversity’s the team faced, the new head coach Kip Drown and every player on the team that I interviewed appeared to always keep a positive mindset. The team went out every game and played to win, no matter who the opponent was.

To me, the most memorable game of the season was against the No. 1 team in the Sun Belt Conference, Arkansas State. It was their second meeting between the two and GSU was the host. Arkansas State came in as the undefeated big bully in the conference with a (21-3, 15-0) record and was looking to steam roll GSU.

They did just that with a 27 point blowout win. Of course that wasn’t what made this game memorable; it was a nightmare to watch. What made it memorable was the heart and effort GSU showed all the way to the buzzer. The game started ugly for GSU going down 24-12 in the first quarter. It looked like there was no fight in them until a series of shots made by the Eagles led to them taking the lead in the second quarter 28-27 over the best team in the conference. The potential upside they showed in the second quarter convinced me this team could compete with anybody.

They also showed many flashes with four games this season losing by five points or less. The Eagle’s potential success awaits them next season, knowing they have a solid scorer in guard Angel McGowan. She is ranked in the top 10 in points in the conference and also scored her 1000th point in her collegiate career this season.

Leading up to this point with the season over and time to grow, I know GSU will eventually get better with time.