SPRINGDALE — Something, or someone, has apparently lit a fire under Caroline Eubanks lately.
Eubanks, a 6-foot-1 junior post for the Springdale Har-Ber girls basketball team, has been counted on this season as one of her team’s go-to players for scoring, rebounding and leadership.
But over the past few weeks she has begun to live up to individual expectations on the court.
“At the beginning (of the year), I knew I wasn’t playing so good,” Eubanks said. “So I’ve just been working after practice a lot with my mom. She’s been shooting afterwards a lot with me, and I’ve been working at it with my dad. And I’m also working harder in practice, I think.”
Eubanks is doing more than just meeting her own expectations recently. She’s perhaps even exceeded them. In the past four games — dating back to Har-Ber’s 64-47 win at Rogers Heritage on Jan. 28 — a new-look Eubanks has emerged.
Against the Lady War Eagles, she went for 20 points and six rebounds. Ten days later, after wintry weather forced a delay in 7A-West Conference play, Eubanks picked up where she left off with her second double-double of the season — 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 50-36 win against Springdale High.
But the stellar play didn’t stop there.
On Feb. 12, a trip to Fort Smith Southside resulted in a 60-54 loss for the Lady Wildcats. But for Eubanks, a 28-point, seven-rebound performance to go along with a perfect 10-for-10 effort from the free-throw line left Har-Ber coach Sandy Wright calling it Eubanks’ “career game.”
Add in Eubanks’ 13-point, 15-rebound night at Bentonville on Tuesday, and she has averaged 18.5 points and 9.8 boards during a four-game stretch.
“(Caroline) has really started to pick it up, and I think maybe she is just starting to gain some self-confidence,” Wright said. “Sometimes she kind of gets down on herself and she wants to do so well.
“She’s a high goal setter and she sometimes has to realize that even when you miss a couple of shots, you’ve got to keep on shooting because that’s what good players do.”
Eubanks admits her own doubts about her game have sometimes stood in the way of her play. She’s now in her second year at Har-Ber after transferring from Fayetteville Christian and moving to Springdale before her sophomore season.
“Coach Wright always says that instead of seeing the glass half full I see it as half empty,” Eubanks said. “But I don’t know. I guess I don’t have very much confidence. I mean, I have confidence, but I wasn’t confident in everything that I could do.”
Despite Eubanks’ individual dominance lately, the Lady Wildcats (12-13, 4-6) managed just a 2-2 record in the past four games, including back-to-back losses to Southside and Bentonville.
And if Har-Ber hopes to end the skid anytime soon and finish the regular season strong, having Eubanks continue her recent resurgence appears to almost be a must.
“It’s very pleasant from my standpoint to see her stepping up and playing better,” Wright said. “We need to have someone who can be that player we can rely on and go to every time we play. And Caroline needs to understand that she can be that player.”