University of Southern Maine sophomore Chantel Eells shoots over Bates College’s Nina Davenport in November. Eells, a Leavitt Area High School graduate, is a key player for the Huskies this year. (Jason Johns/USM Athletics)
The way the season started was a dreadful continuation of the last year.
The University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team lost and lost and lost four more times to start the 2017-18 season with a 0-6 record.
Last year, Chantel Eells’ freshman season, the Huskies struggled to a 5-21 record.
But this season ended up being nothing like that, and Eells, a forward from Turner who was a two-sport standout at Leavitt Area High School, has been in the middle of USM’s resurgence.
“We’ve really pushed each other and realize that we didn’t want to have another season like we did last year,” Eells said.
After going 0-for-November, the Huskies finished out 2017 by going undefeated in five December games.
USM finished the regular season with a 13-12 overall record (9-5 in conference) and heads into the Little East Conference tournament, which opens Tuesday, as the No. 3 seed. The Huskies have achieved one of their goals by earning a home game to start the tournament.
“I think we’re hungry to do something,” USM coach Samantha Allen said.
After a slow start to the season, Eells is now third on the team in scoring at 9.2 points per game (second in conference play at 10.7 ppg). She also is the team’s top rebounder at 7.4 per game.
She has been on the Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association’s weekly honor roll four times this season.
“She’s done very well for us. We’re excited that she is starting to grow into her position on the team,” Allen said.
This past Wednesday, Eells tied a career high with 18 points against UMass-Boston. She also pulled down 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.
During an eight-game stretch from Jan. 10 to Feb. 3, Eells scored in double figures every game.
“I do believe that she just, honestly, got a little chip on her shoulder and just kind of went for it,” Allen said. “And it was good to see her not really holding back.”
During that stretch, the Huskies went 6-2.
“I think it started clicking not just for me, but all of us as a team,” Eells said. “When it started to click for us as a team, I definitely got more confidence in myself, and my teammates had more confidence in me.”
Allen said that the Huskies have also come to rely on Eells as a leader and a fierce competitor.
“She is extremely funny. Honestly, the girls love interacting with her,” Allen said. “We jokingly call her ‘Smiley’ because she has such a game face on all the time.”
The 5-foot-11 Eells plays a different role with USM than she did in high school at Leavitt.
With the Hornets, Eells was a ball-handler who made moves going toward the hoop. With the Huskies, she is in the low post and plays with her back to the basket.
“The system that we’re running is predicated upon having a really good and dominant post player who’s not only good at getting their own shots up but very good at facilitating to teammates,” Allen said. “Chantel is both of those things, so it’s definitely working very well in our favor.”
Eells wasn’t disappointed to be moved to the post. Just the opposite, in fact — it’s where she feels she belongs.
To prepare for life in the post and going against players taller and heavier than her, Eells spent a lot of time in the weight room.
“I definitely have more of an inside game than I did before,” Eells said. “I’ve definitely taken time in the offseason to get my body adjusted to college basketball, so I’ve been in the weight room and been in the gym during the summers and the offseason the most I can be.”
Now, she has more moves and she’s continually becoming more comfortable using them during games.
“She’s become certainly more diverse in how she attacks the rim,” Allen said. “Her go-to move … is the patented Chantel spin move, getting to the rim finish.”
Allen adds that Eells is also gaining more confidence in her mid-range jump shot, which pulls post defenders out of the paint.
Eells said last season was “a slow-moving year.” Allen calls it a “perfect storm” of unfortunate events. The Huskies were trying a different system, and most of the previous year’s starters and rotation players had graduated.
So, the Huskies were young. They still are.
While seniors Emily Nicholson and former Mt. Blue standout Miranda Nicely are still valuable contributors, USM’s underclassmen are stepping up setting the pace.
Eells is one of four sophomores who join three freshmen that give the Huskies a bright future. One of those freshmen is leading scorer Kristen Curley, who was on Gorham’s Class AA state champion team last year, and Lewiston’s Morgan Eliasen, who averages 10.9 minutes per game.
“It’s super-exciting,” Eells said. “It’s definitely cool to see our record this year and the rest of the season see how far we can go — hopefully to the LEC final — and then, moving on into next year, it’s going to be great because we’re all still going to be so young.”
Not only is Eells off to a fast start on the court, she’s also working to get ahead of schedule in the classroom at USM.
She’s taking a full course load of classes — and is doing quite well, Allen said — and also goes during the summer to be on pace to graduate with a degree in social work after three years and then work on a master’s degree when she’s a senior.
She’s not quite sure which of the many directions she’ll go with social work, but plans to look into the counseling side.
“Over time I’ve had a few school projects and such where I’ve had to job shadow certain people,” Eells said. “I had to job shadow a woman in a crisis hospital, and that’s I think what drove me to want to be a social worker, to help other people when they’re in need.”
University of Southern Maine sophomore Chantel Eells looks to make a pass against Bowdoin in November. Eells, a Leavitt Area High School graduate, is a key player for the Huskies this year. (Jason Johns/USM Athletics)
University of Southern Maine sophomore Chantel Eells and Bates College’s Nina Davenport vie for the ball during a game in November. Eells, a Leavitt Area High School graduate, is a key player for the Huskies this year. (Jason Johns/USM Athletics)
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