Dowd plays "big" inside for Eagles girls

By Bruce Wallace
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 9:41 AM CST

For a basketball player who didn't get in the game too much as a seventh grade "B" team player, the SoBoCo Eagles will be counting on Rebekah Dowd in her senior season.

"She will be important for us on the inside," said Eagles girls basketball coach Pat Lacy. "She keeps getting better and better and I am looking for her to have a good season."

Dowd and the Eagles will open the girls' season at home on Thursday at 6 p.m. against one of their toughest opponents on their schedule - Jefferson City.

Dowd, who ran cross country this past fall and is the girl's soccer team starting goal keeper, says she is physically and mentally ready for a successful year.

"I hyper-extended my knee last year in P.E. class playing volleyball, but I strengthened it in weight training," Dowd said, pointing to the knee brace on her leg, "that has helped me be stronger in the middle."

Dowd, at 5'9", is one of the smaller post players in the Mid-Missouri Conference, but she has improved her core strength with a dedicated weight program that Lacy says allows her to play "bigger" than she appears.

"Rebekah has gone from a sophomore who didn't even start on the junior varsity to being a real strong player with good basketball knowledge and great work ethic," Lacy said.

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