Lady Pioneers start the season in Kentucky

The Lady Pioneers enjoyed our first trip as a team this past weekend as we traveled to Grayson, KY for the “Super 8 Classic” hosted by Kentucky Christian University. We left Northland at 3:30 pm on Wednesday and drove to Lafayette, IN for the night. After a team devotional and time of testimonies and singing, we were on the road again to finish up the 800 mile journey, arriving about 1 ½ hours before our first game of the season against the #1 ranked Lady Knights of KCU. We fell behind early to KCU and never recovered, losing 67-31. The long drive and lack of practices with our full squad would be a “legitimate” excuse for our girls to come out and put forth a lackluster effort. However, that wasn’t the case. Our team played hard, and focused well for the full 40 minutes. We made great improvement from the 1^st to 2^nd half. I think the drive impacted us physically, but not our effort. KCU is extremely talented and well-coached as usual. That’s why they’ve won 12 NCCAA II National Championships the past 20 years, including three in a row entering this season, and have a 330-10 record against schools at the NCCAA II level. Thursday night they shot very well from 3-point range (7 of 16) and dominated inside. They out-rebounded us 52-21 with their multiple 6-foot plus posts. The mood of the team afterwards was balanced and refreshing. We don’t like losing, but I think the girls thought they had played their best. I thought so as well. It was evident in the game that we have some young ladies that are ready to play ball this year. Newcomer Rebekah earned the respect of everyone as she battled inside with the posts with her 5’5” frame. She grabbed five rebounds for her effort. Abbey, Tiffany and Ellie led us in scoring with seven each.

After some Papa John’s pizza after the game, the girls were able to hit the sack for some good sleep. They were able to sleep in, do homework, and catch up on some reading as we didn’t meet until 10:30am. It was another great time in the word and testimony as Coach Moses led the devotional. We grabbed some lunch and then got to the gym 1 ½ hours before our game with #8 Southeastern University from Lakeland, FL. They are in the process of transitioning to NAIA, and have started attracting some good talent. That was proven the previous week as they only lost to Kentucky Christian 49-45. We were prepared for the press as we had practiced against it being run by some of our college guys during our last few practices. That decision proved helpful as we sprinted out to a 41-24 halftime lead, and 76-68 win by shredding the press and getting easy baskets. We also lit it up from the outside, connecting on 9 of 16 3-pointers. Tiff led us in scoring with 20 (4 of 6 3pt), Abbey added 18 (2 of 4 3pt) and Lydia scored 16 (2 of 3 3pt). Abbey also grabbed 12 rebounds, while Rebekah led us with 14 boards. She is such a tenacious player amongst the trees with her 5’5” frame. She isn’t afraid of anything, and plays great help defense.

Afterwards, we headed to nearby Marshall University in Huntington, WV. The next day (Nov. 14) was the 39^th anniversary of the tragic plane crash that claimed 75 lives, including the entire 37-member football team, coaches, boosters, and others. There is a memorial fountain on campus that we visited. It was very sobering, and definitely allowed us to contemplate many things including our relationships with teammates. Afterwards we went to a mall, then back to the hotel to celebrate Coach Moses’ birthday.

Our final game on Saturday was one of the most frustrating losses I’ve experienced as we lost to Grace Bible College 66-59. We felt we outplayed Grace in so many ways, took 30 more shots, outrebounded them, forced more turnovers, etc., but could not make an open look. It wasn’t even the defense, but continually missed wide open looks. Coach Moses estimates that we had about 20 shots go in and out. I even took a 30-second timeout in the second half just to tell the girls that we had nothing to change, the shots would fall, and to keep shooting…..but I was wrong. They wouldn’t and we dropped to 1-2. Abbey led us in scoring with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Ellie had her best game with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals. She also held Graces’ All-American guard to 2 points for the game. Rebekah again worked hard on the boards, gathering a team high 12 rebounds. Kayla had 11 rebounds and 6 points in her best effort of the young season.

Afterwards we made the 550+ mile trek to Chicago where we stayed with Abbey’s family and friends for the night. On Sunday the team sang in the morning service at Bible Baptist Church in Romeoville, IL, and were challenged by the message from Pastor Baker. It’s always a great church for us to visit with familiar faces, including former Lady Pioneer Rachel Snyder.

Anyway, the girls were glad to arrive back on campus safe and sound about 9pm. We look forward to a good week of practices, and ultimately out regional tip-off tournament next weekend.