For Lindbergh girls basketball coach Allen Dodson, it’s simple. He wants to get back to the Old Lindbergh. By that he means he wants the Eagles to again be a yearly league and playoff contender. By that he means the team that went 39-10 from 2006 to 2008.

Since then the team has struggled much of the time. The Eagles have gone 2-14 and 9-10 past two years. But through that 9-10 record the progress was already visible. Lindbergh won five straight games during a late-season run to get in playoff position.

“We want to get back to the playoffs,” Dodson said. “We’ve just got to go play our game and let the chips fall where they may. Our mindset is to just go win every game.”

The team starts with senior Emily Graver. At 5-foot-10 with great ball skills, Dodson said Graver will start at point guard but move around to different positions at times during the game.

“We’ll see how far she’ll take us,” Dodson said. “Emily is a fundamentally sound player, she just has to put it all out there. We go as she goes.”

Graver has established herself as one of the league’s best players and a triple-double waiting to happen. She led the Seamount in assists last season with 4.4, and added 15.9 points and 10 rebounds per game.

“I just want to have fun, it’s not a matter of how many games we win,” Graver said. “But I think we’ll do better than we have done.”

Another key player is senior Sarah Radulovich, who missed most of last season with an injury. She averaged 4.2 points per game in her limited action. Other starters include sophomore Aleisha Simpson, junior Sarah Batschi and junior Dalen Elenzano. Shayna Magat will also play a big role off the bench.

One factor that will put Lindbergh on the right track is that the team finally has solid numbers. With 21 players, the Eagles now have a JV team for the first time in three years.

“It just makes it a lot easier,” Radulovich said. “We can scrimmage lot more and we have more options out there.”

Lindbergh is off to a 3-2 start with a 2-1 record in league play. The Eagles play at Tyee Friday night.

 

Contact Renton Reporter Staff Writer Adam McFadden at amcfadden@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484.

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