PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles’ Eve Burke was lauded not only for her success in finding a way to score against bigger opponents, but for her amazing consistency for the Roughriders girls basketball team.
Burke signed last week to continue playing basketball for Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. Linfield, which is a hugely successful sports school that has won a number of national championships in football, baseball and softball, plays at the NCAA Div. II level.
Roughriders’ coach Scott Poindexter called her a “model of consistency” who could be counted on to score 20 points virtually every game, especially during her senior season. She was named to the first-team all-Olympic League team three times and was an All-Peninsula basketball MVP this past season.
Burke, who is about 5-foot-8, had an amazing ability with the Riders to squirm into open spots in the key and score against usually bigger players with a variety of scoop shots and hooks, often starting her shot below her knees, but almost never getting blocked. Poindexter said that people haven’t seen Burke shoot from outside, but she has an outside shot that he predicted she will have to use more in college.
Assistant Coach Jennifer Rogers said Burke deserves everything she has worked for. “Your commitment and attitude all always the same. You never saw any change.”
Rogers said there is a fire that burns inside Burke that doesn’t always show. She told a story of how, in one game, she got a lot of bad calls from the officials and was crying in the locker room after. “It showed how important everything was to you. I know that was kind of a crappy memory, but it was a great memory because it showed who you are,” she said.
Burke also played soccer and golf for the Roughriders. Former girls soccer coach Scott Moseley said she was a huge asset to the team.
“I don’t know who talked you into or bribed you into playing soccer,” Moseley said. “Before Eve, I had never had a player go from JV to a starting midfielder in the final eight at state. It just showed her athleticism and coachability.”
Burke said she liked Linfield because it’s in a small city and it’s not too far away from Port Angeles. She plans to major in business.
“I got to visit and I really liked the energy there,” she said.
