Bailey Eichner had the best season of her career, improving on both sides of the ball and becoming a significant part of the Tribe’s incredible season.
In her first couple of years in Williamsburg, Bailey Eichner failed to see the court for extended minutes. I think it’s fair to say some of that was due to Head Coach Ed Swanson’s proclivity to play a little smaller, as well as the fact that Gabby Rogers and Emma Krause were more advanced on the offensive end of the court. But in 2019-20, William and Mary’s style of play and personnel shifted.
Eichner fills a very specific role for W&M. She’s a reliable defender and rebounder on a team that sometimes has lacked interior defense and rebounding. Splitting time at the 5 with Rogers, Eichner averaged 3.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game last year. She started four games, all during the conference season – the first four starts of her career.
The most impressive aspect to Eichner’s game is her defensive rebounding. Eichner recorded a defensive rebounding rate of 26.3%, meaning she corralled 26.3% of all available defensive rebounds. That ranked 39th in the country. It comes in an area of need (one of few) for the Tribe – W&M ranked 242nd in the country in defensive rebounding rate and 226th in overall rebounding rate.
While she has always shown defensive potential, she struggled offensively, even in the limited minutes she played her first couple of seasons. Eichner shot 33% from the field in her first two years, though that was only on 24 total shots.
Anecdotally, she did not look comfortable with the ball in her hands until this year. Even in the 2019-20 season, there were times Eichner did not appear settled in, but overall, she looked more comfortable and more adjusted to the speed of the game.
One thing that can’t be specifically measured is leadership. Eichner is vocal, which I love as somebody who was very vocal when he played basketball. If Victoria Reynolds was a quiet, example setting leader, Eichner made herself heard during games, loudly.
That leadership will continue to grow, as Eichner is now a senior on a team looking to achieve even more than they did this past year, which is more than they had accomplished in their entire history. She will not be relied upon to provide scoring or playmaking. She may not even be relied upon to start a majority of games. But she will need to provide solid defense, leadership, and maybe a timely bucket or two if this team wants to end up playing into late March.
H/T to HerHoopStats.com for access to advanced stats for this post. Women’s college basketball stats have traditionally been harder to access than men’s for a number of systemic reasons, so thanks to this great resource for making it easier to analyze women’s basketball with the same rigor as their male counterparts. Consider subscribing for just $20 a year to help make sure we can continue to access these informative numbers!