Megan Sparks is in the unique situation of being a former teammate to nine players she now coaches.

Eastern’s 10th all-time leading scorer, with 1,313 points, is in her first season as an assistant for head coach Brady Sallee.

She is only the second player in program history to have more than 1,000 points, 100 3-pointers and 300 free throws. Sparks was the main contributor, averaging 15.9 points, on last year’s team that finished 9-11 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a roster that relied on three starting freshman.

Sparks has seen the same problems this season as the young Panthers have struggled in OVC play.

A promising group of freshmen were added to Eastern’s talented young core prior to the season but the wins have not come as predicted and Eastern sits in ninth place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 4-10 conference record, 7-16 overall.

Sparks knows from experience what young players go through and she tried to use her experience on the court to improve her abilities on the bench.

“With such a young team, they can get mentally worn out,” Sparks said. “I try to key on that and even if they aren’t winning back-to-back games I keep them positive. It’s easy to look at the losses and get frustrated.”

Sparks also sees the young team wearing out physically with the rigors of a full college season taking their toll.

“In high school the season is only 20 games long, but in college 20 games is just getting started,” Sparks said. “There are a lot of important games left to be played.”

The team was predicted to finish sixth in the preseason OVC poll in Sallee’s third year at the helm, but 23 games into the season the Panthers record puts them two wins behind Eastern Kentucky and the last qualifying slot in the OVC tournament.

With six games left this season, a berth in the postseason tournament is a definite possibility. But with 12 losses in the last 15 games, keeping the team motivated and energetic in practice has been a top priority for Sallee and Sparks.

“I have been somewhat satisfied,” Sallee said about the Panthers’ practices. “But if we were 23 and 0 I would be somewhat satisfied. That’s the nature of my beast; I’m always in search of that perfect day, because as soon as you’re satisfied with 90 percent or 85 percent you let your guard down.”

But the standings do not reflect the amount of talent his team has, Sallee said, and he has been impressed with the way his team has “come to work every day.”

Forward Rachel Galligan has progressed from the OVC freshman of the year to the third-leading scorer in the conference with 17.5 points per game. Sallee puts a lot of pressure on Galligan to be the team’s leader and lone offensive post presence and the sophomore has been successful in both those roles.

“(Galligan) has done an amazing job taking a big role,” Sparks said. “She has done a great job.”

Sallee said Galligan and the other sophomores have “progressed nicely” but he said he would have like to see Megan Edwards continue to improve her play.

The starting point guard last season, Edwards suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the last exhibition game of the season and is ahead of schedule in her rehabilitation.

“When we started struggling scoring it kind of hit everyone in the face,” Sallee said about Edward’s absence. “I would have liked to have all the bullets in my gun, so to speak.”