Chadron State College Athletics

The 1994-95 Chadron State College women’s basketball is just the fifth CSC team and the first women’s team to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.   
   
At the beginning of the 1994-95 season, the Eagles lost their first three games, but gained momentum and won all but four of their next 26, finishing with a 22-8 record, the best mark in CSC women’s basketball history.

Under first year head coach Tom Andersen, the Eagles tied for the RMAC regular-season championship and won the conference tournament, allowing them to advance to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament for the first time.

A suggestion Andersen made during the preseason was among the reasons the Eagles flourished. He urged point guard Lacy Orpin to shoot more. She was an excellent floor leader and defender, but had averaged just 5.7 points the previous two years and had never scored more than 16 points.

Orpin accepted the advice and averaged 19 points a game while being named both the MVP in the RMAC Tournament and the conference’s Player of the Year.  

The Eagles got another all-star performance from Lorna Dahlgren, who averaged 17.4 points and led the CSC rebounders at 7.3 per game. She finished her career with 1,527 points, still second best in CSC history, and tied Shauna Smith as the Eagles’ all-time leading rebounder with 614.

The Eagles’ third senior, Jen Bonser, also was a major factor in the success story. She shot 54 percent from the field while averaging 6.3 points and 6.9 rebounds a game. She collected 35 rebounds in the Eagles’ three RMAC playoff games.

The other starters also excelled. Lisa Arnett averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds and Jamie Huckfeldt averaged 8.2 points, four rebounds and three assists.

The freshmen also pitched in nicely. Patty Jeffers, Markee Satchell, Esther Smith, Tanya Weber and Linda Young combined to score 392 points and grab 254 rebounds.