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Eden Laase

Passionate, experienced storyteller who specializes in women’s basketball and feature writing. Creative mind who can work individually or as part of a team to produce a high-quality product.

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Eden's Work

Just Women's Sports •

The many layers of Stanford’s Cameron Brink

Cameron Brink has a note taped to the inside of her locker. It’s there so she can see it every day — before every practice, after every game. Even if she opens her locker because she forgot something, it’s there, reminding her.

It’s from a former Stanford staff member, Jaylyn Savage. When she left to take another job, she wrote Brink the note.

Composed with thick black ink on white paper, it starts with a greeting. Then comes the part that has stuck with Brink since she first read it.

“It’s so refreshing to see someone as talented as you still be a kid at heart. Never lose that quality. So many athletes of your caliber don’t have that.”

She’s trying not to.
Just Women's Sports •

This is South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston, the author of her own story

If you had a TV, a phone or a computer in April 2021, you saw it.

Aliyah Boston certainly did. She lived it, and then she watched as it was played over and over and over again.

Thirty-nine minutes and 59 seconds of basketball had been played before Boston’s putback in the 2021 Final Four against Stanford bounced off the rim, but that moment, one that took place in less than a second, became the defining moment of her season. Never mind that the sophomore averaged 13.7 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Never mind that she led her team to a 26-5 record and the Final Four.
Just Women's Sports •

The rise and fall, and rise again, of Indiana women’s basketball

Indiana and basketball have been intertwined from the beginning. James Naismith, the man who created the sport, even famously said: “While the game was invented in Massachusetts, basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport.”

Boys and girls alike from Indiana grow up with basketball in their blood.

“I don’t know anyone who didn’t play basketball,” said current Indiana player Grace Waggoner.

But as men’s basketball at Indiana rose to national prominence, first with Branch McCracken and then with Bob Knight, the women’s program remained in the shadows during the NCAA era, barring one incredible season in 1983.
Just Women's Sports •

Bigger than tall: How No. 1 recruit Lauren Betts found herself and her voice

From the outside, it seems like Lauren Betts should be a pillar of confidence. But reaching those heights was neither easy nor straightforward. This 18-year-old who has accomplished so much still has a long way to go, but she’s getting there. She’s found herself as a basketball player, she’s finding herself as a person and, through it all, she’s starting to find her voice.

Now, she’s ready to use it.
Just Women's Sports •

The South Carolina game ritual started by Aliyah Boston’s mom

Somewhere in Dejah Mulipola’s childhood home in Garden Grove, Calif., maybe in a basement or the back of a closet — she can’t quite remember where — is an all-star jacket from her youth softball days.

Well, there’s probably more than one. The 23-year-old former Arizona softball star and current member of Team USA likely has countless mementos marking her already successful softball career.
Just Women's Sports •

For Caitlin Clark and Iowa fans, this moment is too special to miss

DALLAS — Emma and Abigail Lehl had never been to an Iowa basketball game. They’d also never been on a road trip.

The girls, ages 8 and 6, knocked both out with one epic adventure, as their mom Haley piled them into a car and made the 12 hour, 34 minute drive from Cedar Falls, Iowa to Dallas for the Final Four.

After a season of watching the Hawkeyes on TV, the family decided this moment was too good to pass up.

“This could only happen once,” Haley said. “You never know.”
Upbeat Sports •

Liz Cambage’s Sparks exit explained: Where do both sides go from here?

Amid rumors that Liz Cambage “quit” the team after playing 24 games in Los Angeles, she and the Sparks have agreed to a “contract divorce,” the team announced Tuesday.

“It is with support that we share Liz Cambage’s decision to terminate her contract with the organization,” said Sparks Managing Partner Eric Holoman. “We want what’s best for Liz and have agreed to part ways amicably. The Sparks remain excited about our core group and are focused on our run towards a 2022 playoff berth.”

Resume

Staff Writer

Just Women’s Sports / June 2021-Present 

  • Cover women’s college basketball, WNBA, NWSL and United States Women’s Soccer, responsible for pitching, researching, interviewing and writing news, analysis, and feature stories on multiple leagues and teams. Cover events on the ground and remotely, while highlighting unknown and compelling stories that take readers behind the scenes.

College Hockey Beat Writer / Desk Editor

Colorado Springs Gazette / April 2021-June 2022

  • Assigned and edited content for publication, assisted with design and assembly of all sections for print and online, coordinated with reporters, editors and photographers. Balanced desk duties with beat reporting duties for two Division 1 Hockey teams, Colorado College and Air Force Academy.

Co-Founder

Upbeat | June 2018 - April 2021

  • Founder, content creator and editor of the Upper Peninsula’s first region-wide high school sports publication. Wrote stories, took photos, managed a staff of five, maintained Wordpress website and social media, edited content including articles and photos, and recorded a weekly podcast.

Sports Writer

The Daily Mining Gazette | October 2017-June 2018 

  • Beat writer for Michigan Tech (Division I) and high school hockey, assisted with other sports including basketball, wrote game recaps, previews, sidebars, feature stories

Editorial Intern

Sports Illustrated | June 2017-August 2017

  • Started summer as a fact-checker, but quickly became motorsport beat writer, Covered IndyCar and NASCAR 

Contact Me

My inbox is always open. You can contact me with the contact form here. More clips are available upon request.