EOU women’s basketball team takes it one game at a time

Published 6:43 am Friday, January 9, 2026

Mountaineers stand at 15-1 overall, No. 1 in conference

LA GRANDE — Experience, versatility and teamwork.

These are some of the factors Head Coach Anji Weissenfluh attributes to this year’s Eastern Oregon University women’s basketball team success. Often seen as an underdog in the Cascade Collegiate Conference, Weissenfluh said the Mountaineers opened the 2025-26 season strong. The team is 15-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference after its first loss Saturday, Jan. 10, on the road against Southern Oregon University.

Still, the women Mountaineers are No. 1 in the conference.

“One of the reasons that we have had a good start and been able to win some of the close games and some of the tough games down the stretch is there’s no substitute for experience,” Weissenfluh said. “We have an experienced team. We have a senior led team.”

The team is led by three senior captains — forward Kaiea Waiwaiole, guard Brinley Hagemeier and guard Kelsie Siegner. Each of the captains spoke highly of all their teammates and how well the team is meshing together this year.

“The dynamic is really good this year,” Waiwaiole said.

“It just feels really connected — on the floor, outside of the gym, no matter what we’re doing,” Hagemeier added. “It’s a really fun group.”

EOU women’s basketball team has a solid group of returning players, Siegner said, and the athletes who were new last year now have a year’s experience under their belt. Plus, she said, the newest players are “really fitting in perfectly”

Depth brings success

Versatility — Weissenfluh calls it depth — is another key factor.

“One of our superpowers is our depth,” Weissenfluh said. “We’ve got a lot of girls with some versatility and we can play some different lineups and play some different matchups. Our depth has served us well throughout and we want to continue to build on that.”

The team can adapt their lineups every game, Weissenfluh said, sometimes going big, sometimes going small, sometimes going quick depending on what plays into their opponents strengths and weaknesses.

Weissenfluh added that she’s playing more student athletes within a rotation. This versatility means that any player — on any given night — can shine.

“We’re having someone different each night step up,” Weissenfluh said. “They’re rising to the occasion. We’ve had some really outstanding performances by different people.”

This depth is something Waiwaiole, Hagemeier and Siegner also recognize as a key strength.

“Anyone could step up at any given time, anyone could explode and have a career night,” Hagemeier said.

Focusing on consistency

Eastern’s focus this season has been consistency. Offensively, Weissenfluh said, players pushed themselves to move up and down the court — running and transitioning.

Then, on defense, the team has committed to rebounding. This has allowed Eastern to lock their opponents down, Weissenfluh said, and keep many teams under their averages.

It’s about the effort and controlling what they can control.

“I wanted to give accolades to my team for their ability and willingness to come into practice every day and to work to get better,” Weissenfluh said. “We come into the gym just trying to improve each and every day — to get a little bit better than we were yesterday.”

One game at a time

While Eastern was undefeated until Jan. 10, Weissenfluh said their record hasn’t been a focus for the team.

“The teams are really, really good this year,” Weissenfluh said. “We understand this conference and the teams and the coaches that are within the conference. We know that any team within the Cascade Conference can beat us, too.”

So, rather than talking about their record, Weissenfluh said the team has focused on putting in maximum effort.

Waiwaiole, Hagemeier and Siegner echoed that sentiment. All three of the team captains were proud of the team’s ability to push through adversity.

“I’ve just been really proud of our grit — our fight,” Siegner said. “There’s been several games that we would consider bigger games — against bigger opponents — and we haven’t let anything phase us. If we’re down or up, whatever it is, we keep playing our game.”

The latest win was a tough matchup on the road Jan. 9, against Oregon Tech. The Mountaineers prevailed 68-64. But the following day, Southern Oregon won 67-43, bringing its record to 11-5 overall. EOU’s next contest is Jan. 16 at home in Quinn Coliseum against Corban University, No. 2 at 13-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play.

“These are going to be really tough games, but we love the tough games,” Weissenfluh said. “Win or lose, you prepare and you compete.”

Editor’s note: The Observer updated this feature with the outcomes of the team’s games as of Saturday, Jan. 10.