Team makes program history with NCAA II Sweet Sixteen appearance
On March 20, the team returned from their time in Colorado, and fans outside of D.L. Ligon Coliseum greeted the players and coaches as they returned to campus.
“It felt very special,” Johnson said. “People were willing to welcome us home and hug us and tell us they were proud of us, and it meant the world to me and the kids. All the text messages and emails have been wonderful. (The support) is one of the motivating and driving forces for us.”
The women’s basketball team’s post-season run came to a halt on March 18, after falling 69-65 to Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo. at the NCAA II South Central Region Championship Game.
This trip to the Sweet Sixteen marked the first time a women’s team had picked up a win in the NCAA II postseason tournament in the program’s history.
“I’m proud of these girls,” Head Women’s Basketball Coach Noel Johnson said. “They made a commitment to this season and to what we wanted to do goal-wise, and they accomplished it.”
The team ended the season with a 26-6 overall record, also the highest in program history. During its run, the team accomplished many feats, including claiming a tie for the Lone Star Conference championship with Abilene Christian, the first championship the program has won since 2001, and they also captured the LSC postseason title in an overtime victory against West Texas A&M. The team also beat Tarleton State four times in one season, with the fourth and final matchup being the first game of the NCAA postseason.
“When we set these goals earlier in the year, we knew we could accomplish them because of the talent, the character and the hard work these kids bring,” Johnson said. “I am so proud of them devoting their time and hard work this season, and how they responded to the set backs we’ve had this season.”
One of those setbacks included the underdog status the team had going into the postseason, especially right before their final game with Mesa.
Several players on the team, including forward Sky Warrick, junior in mass communication, made several posts on Facebook regarding comments from other teams that the women’s program wasn’t “good enough” to have made it that far.
Johnson said she believes these thoughts stemmed from the team never making it past the first round of the postseason in past seasons.
“It was just kind of the overall thought of us not being able to finish and that we hadn’t been there before,” Johnson said. “(Other teams) were expecting us to be one-and-done, but these kids weren’t going to let that happen.”
Not letting that happen was exactly what the team did. The women trampled Tarleton State in the opening round with a 91-78 victory on March 15, then moved on to take down Metro State (Colo.) 66-52 on March 16.
The final game of the season against Mesa may not have ended the way the women wanted, but they didn’t go down without a fight. In fact, the game with Mesa went back-and-forth with no team gaining an edge until the final few minutes of the second half when Mesa finally pulled away.
“We felt like we could come back at any point during that game,” Johnson said. “I told the kids in the huddle towards the end of the game that we could still pull this out if we made some plays I knew they were capable of making. I really didn’t have any finality about the game until the final buzzer went off – that’s when I accepted it and knew the other team had won.”
Despite the loss, Johnson said she believes that the team’s trip to the tournament was an experience they’ll never forget, and that it will also make them hungrier for the next season, as well as earn the team some well-deserved respect.
“I think there is a little bit of respect being thrown our way because of (our tournament run),” Johnson said. “We went on an eight-game winning streak until we met Mesa, and we went 7-0 against Tarleton and West Texas this season. Those are very respectable programs who are known for going to NCAA tournaments and winning our league.”
Now in the offseason, Johnson said the women would receive a couple of weeks to recover before the team starts up postseason training and workouts and looking toward next season, as well as recruiting. Luckily, the team only loses one senior in Ashley Rush, with the core of the team moving up to be juniors or seniors.
“As far as what we have right now, we’re very happy with our roster,” Johnson said. “If we find someone that we think is a right fit for us to contribute next year, we’ll look into it, but we’re looking more to improve on what we have than finding someone to fill in.”