Slow-Starting Eagles Get Boost From Mejer

It would be difficult to overstate Gitte Mejer’s importance to the Concordia women’s basketball program.

Entering this season, Mejer, a 6-foot-2 senior from Aarhus, Denmark, was the school’s career leader in scoring (1,482 points) and rebounding (701). She also had the top three single-game scoring performances in school history--38, 36 and 33 points--and helped the Eagles to consecutive berths in the NAIA Division I national tournament.

But until recently, this season had been a struggle for Mejer and the Eagles. Coach Sharon Campbell replaced Kent Schlichtemeier, who resigned to attend graduate school, and the team had problems adjusting to the new system.

The Eagles lost their first four games of the season, including three to teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference, the conference they breezed through undefeated last season.

“It’s definitely been frustrating,” Mejer said. “I knew it was going to be a struggle and it would take a lot of adjusting. We had some problems in the beginning getting to know Coach Campbell and learning her system.

“We just didn’t play very well together. I think everybody was trying to find their role on the team. Usually, you have returners who know what to expect and can help other players. But we were all like freshmen. We had to learn everything from scratch.”

Campbell said she tinkered with her system some, returning to a motion offense similar to the one the Eagles used last year. The team has responded by winning six of its last eight and four of its last five games.

Not coincidently, Mejer has been putting up amazing numbers.

Tuesday, she scored 53 points in a 98-78 victory over Biola, breaking her own school record for the second time in two games. Saturday, she had 47 points, making 17 of 19 shots from the field and all 13 of her free throws in an 88-82 victory over Point Loma Nazarene.

In her last five games, Mejer has averaged 37.6 points to increase her conference-leading scoring average to 24.1. This week she was named conference player of the week for the second consecutive time.

Mejer, who made 24 of 36 shots and had 13 rebounds against Biola, said her increased output is helped by the fact that she is getting more playing time because she isn’t getting into foul trouble as often.

Also Wendy Johnson, the Eagles’ only other 6-footer, has missed the last eight games with serious shin splits, leaving Mejer as the only inside threat.

“I don’t go into any games thinking I’m going to have such-and-such amount of points,” Mejer said. “It just happens that in the last few games the points have been coming from inside. If that’s the way it’s going to be, that’s the way it is.

“I’m not going for any records.”

Mejer and the Eagles (9-7, 1-1 in conference) play host to Cal Baptist (3-13, 0-2) on Saturday.

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The Southern California College women’s basketball team continues to roll up some impressive scores. The Vanguards (15-3, 2-0), who won their 13th consecutive game Tuesday by beating UC San Diego, 79-54, are leading the conference in points scored (73) and fewest points allowed (49).

However, Coach Dean Cooper is worried that the Vanguards won’t be at full strength for Saturday’s game at Fresno Pacific (11-5, 3-0).

Point guard Nicole Kelley injured her back in practice Monday, sat out of Tuesday’s game and is doubtful for Saturday.

Cooper went with a larger lineup Tuesday, starting 6-3 Carrie Elsaesser, 6-2 Sanja Simidzija, 6-0 Dana DeVaney and 6-0 Jamie Zitterkopf, but he is worried how the team will fare against Fresno Pacific’s full-court press.

SCC is shallow at guard because reserve point guard Ruth Gulfan and starting shooting guard Emily Wedel didn’t return to the team after the holiday break.

But the team was bolstered when Erin Hartigan, an all-Utah state shooting guard, transferred from Loyola Marymount at the semester.

The inside game was helped by the addition of Simidzija, a junior from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She transferred from Peru State, an NAIA Division II school in Nebraska where Cooper said she averaged about 18 points last season.

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Poor scouting: Before the season, Jack Bauerle, Chapman’s athletic trainer, made a bet with some members of the men’s basketball team. He’d let them shave his head if the Panthers beat a certain team on their schedule.

Bauerle and the players looked at the schedule and figured the game last Friday against UC Santa Cruz would give the Panthers a good test.

Well, the Banana Slugs, also an NCAA Division III team, entered the game with a 3-11 record and Chapman won easily, 95-68.

“At halftime, I asked someone, ‘How about if they have to beat them by 20?’ And they still got that accomplished,” Bauerle said.

So after the players hit the showers, they returned to the gym floor, grabbed the electric razor and each took a few swipes while several dozen watched.

Notes

Chapman football Coach Ken Visser has filled his staff. Here is the tentative lineup: Offensive coordinator Greg Shammel, a former Servite player who was an assistant coach at Fullerton High, Colorado and Whittier College; running backs coach Dave Hill, an assistant at La Verne who is a Chapman official; receivers coach Terry Boesel, Chapman assistant men’s basketball coach; quarterbacks coach Tom Tereschuk, Servite’s head baseball coach; defensive backs and recruiting coordinator Dave Bishop, a former Westminster High player who coached at Whittier College; linebackers and special teams coach Kirk Jellerson, an assistant at Cerritos, Fullerton and Whittier colleges, and defensive line Bill Yurak, a teacher at Bellflower St. John Bosco High.