Week 8 POW: Allison Eide (2018)

Christian Life Academy has had a season of extremes, losing its first six games before rebounding to win its next eight. Perhaps the one constant has been junior guard Allison Eide, who recently edged out New Ulm's Joey Batt to win our Player of the Week award in Week 8.

Eide is a prolific scorer who does a little bit of everything well. I mean, she's averaging 20-4-5 with 6 steals per game, which are some impressive numbers. She played last season with Crossfire Vavra.

However, she's a name that's not currently in our 2018 rankings. That's a whiff on our part, so she'll be on our watch list in the coming months.

Here's the tricky part: Christian Life Academy is in Section 4A, which is among the most grueling sections in the state — regardless of class. There are six teams in this section who deserve to be ranked inside the Top 20, including Maranatha, Minneapolis North, Heritage Christian and Mayer Lutheran.

Yikes, right? If you'd like to see Eide yet this season, it'd be safest to do so in February. However, that has nothing to do with Eide's individual talents and college prospects.

We recently caught up with the super sleeper to get her feedback on this season, her future and playing for her father, a Gospel musician of some renown.

Q & A

NORTHSTAR: Your young squad — no seniors — started the year by losing its first six games. What did you learn from that rough start? 

EIDE: In some of those games we had the lead deep into the game, but we often ran out of gas and weren't able to finish strong. So we’ve been working on finishing and playing complete games

NORTHSTAR: The Hawks have now won 8 straight, including your big game that landed you this award. Can you explain that big swing?

EIDE: We became more aggressive and disciplined on defense. In the way we play, we believe our defense creates our offense, which definitely contributed to our wins.

NORTHSTAR: You're averaging 20-4-5 with more than 6 steals a night. How would describe your game to someone who isn't familiar with Christian Life Academy? What are some areas you're still looking to improve?

EIDE: I love to anticipate defensively and offensively, seeing the floor and seeing the play before it happens. I can create points from any area on the floor with both left and right hand through shooting, passing, and finishing at the hole. I definitely want to keep improving on my shot and ball handling along with simply getting faster and stronger. But also becoming more of a student of the game, and learning every aspect of it.

NORTHSTAR: At 8-6 this year, what's going to make this a successful year for you? Do you have any particular goals in mind?

EIDE: Our year will be successful when we take one game at a time continuing to improve as a team. I have awesome teammates who are hard working and are all committed to the same goal.  As a team our goal is to win our 3rd straight conference championship and get as far into sections as we can

NORTHSTAR: What's the best and worst part about your dad, Peder, being your head coach?

EIDE: Raised in a family very invested in sports, it was actually a little girl dream to have my dad be my coach someday. So I feel blessed to have my dad as my coach today. But there are no special privileges I get to have as the coach’s daughter. He pushes me to meet my expectations, but we have a great relationship and we talk a lot which makes it work well on the court.

NORTHSTAR: I noticed that Peder is kind of a big deal, having met Denzel Washington, Whitney Houston, Paul McCartney and others. What's his story? Who's the coolest celebrity you've ever met?

EIDE: So my dad is a professional musician/singer/songwriter in Gospel music. It has been his vocation for  20+ years. Along with sports, we as a family are also very invested in music. I’ve had the privilege as a singer/songwriter to travel and perform with my dad all around the country. Through this job my dad has met many celebrities including the ones I listed. I have not met any celebrities myself except for one of my favorites, Tori Kelly.

NORTHSTAR: Are you interested in playing basketball in college? Have you started looking at schools yet? What are some things — location, style of play, campus size, early playing time, etc. — that are especially important to you?

EIDE: I am pursuing college basketball for sure. I have been receiving interest from colleges and universities this past year. I love the big campus feel with a really good education and sports communities that are like big families. I enjoy Intense competition and a school with a love for the game.