Bad game, great weekend

Well, as I mentioned last night, after such a physical battle with Mount Mary in Milwaukee, I was concerned with what we would have in the tank 13 hours later when we tipped against #9 Moody in Chicago. We actually started the game well, hitting our first two shots. But we had some mental lapses on defense and went very cold from the perimeter and free throw line. I think we scored two points the final five minutes of the first half, went 1 of 10 from the charity stripe, and surrendered 13 offensive rebounds to a very large Moody frontline (6'4", 6'2", 6') to enter halftime down by 13.

In my heart, I knew we were better than we had played and could come out and turn it around quickly as we did the night before. On the other hand I think I know this team well enough now to admit I felt we were close to empty at halftime. It reminded me a little of the regional final last year when we played 130 minutes in 42 hours. In that game I didn't want a halftime because we were on adrenaline, and the break totally drained us. Today, I didn't want the halftime to end because I sensed we were exhausted.

The 2nd half started with Moody going on a run to extend the lead to 20, and I began realizing my fears. But sure enough, we went on a 9-0 run to claw back to an 11-point deficit with 12 minutes left - and that's when we hit the wall. Jenna and Ellie, who had each played 40 minutes the night before, asked out of the game for a break. We mixed and matched our lineups the final eight minutes, and Moody never let up building their lead to a final score of 74-43.

Let me say this - Moody is good. I came into the season believing they would be the team to beat in the Midwest region. We were fortunate enough to beat them twice last year, including in double overtime in the regional semi-final, But the addition of some very good freshman guards to their frontline will make them tough to beat in the region. With that being said, they're not 31 points better than us. We hope to play them again in the regional tournament.

Afterwards, we spent a few hours in downtown Chicago, including dinner at Giordano's pizza! It was also nice having Jenna and Hannah's parents with us, as well as Abbey. I'm presently in Green Bay preparing to fly out to speak at a Spiritual Emphasis Week at Hanalani Chirstian School in Oahu, HI. Please pray for me as you think about it. The girls will begin classes on Tuesday, and practice Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday before returning to the court in a week against Gogebic College. Lord-willing, I'll be there in time for the game after flying all night!

Thanks for reading!

Big road win

Late night greetings from our hotel in the Windy City where we arrived a little over an hour ago. It was a late arrival form Milwaukee, but well worth it, as we beat Mount Mary College (NCAA III) 59-53 at their place. This was such an encouraging win in so many ways. Most recently, they beat us 77-76 at our place a week ago when we failed to execute in the final minute. Also, this is a team we haven't beaten in a few years, and their confidence was really high. And thirdly, we have honestly had some bad memories of games in the past, as well as other events surrounding the event.

Honestly, when this game began tonight, it looked like this would be another bad memory. We shot poorly, played tentatively against their pressure, and didn't protect the defensive rebounding. We were trailing by as many as eight points just four minutes into the game. We finally picked up the intensity in the latter portion of the first half. If you've followed us for the past six or eight games, you know we have been consistently putting up some great offensive numbers. So to enter the locker room down 24-17, I wasn't overly concerned because i know we have shooters. Also, the girls, as usual, were calm and intense in the locker room, clearly discussing the errors we had made in the first half.

It definitely helped. We started the second half on a 15-2 run thanks to tough half court defense and a good transition game. Tiff connected on a couple of 3's, Ellie continued to play great defense on the 6th leading scorer in the NCAA III, Rebekah dominated the hustle stats, Jenna defended the physical post, and Lydia produced key steals to dramatically turn the game to our favor.

We once again showed balanced scoring with Ellie (15), Tiff (14), Jenna (13) and Lyds (11) all hitting double digits. Rebekah led us with 11 rebounds and Jenna added nine. Lydia also was credited with seven steals. Ellie's defense limited their best player to 12 points, on 5 of 13 shooting, and five turnovers.

The girls are exhausted, so who knows what we will have left for a key regional match-up with Moody at 1pm on Saturday. Regardless, I know this team will come out and play hard!

Thanks for reading.

More stats....

Don't want to bore you with numbers but thought fans of the Lady Pioneers may be interested in some of these. As I mentioned in December, individual or team stats don't mean a great deal unless you're improving individually and as a team. I think we're doing both, so they are more of an honest indicator.

First, we maintain the 10th position in the NCCAA II coaches' poll this week. I'm really thankful for that and believe it's a testimony to the hard work by the girls first and second semester.

Individually, Tiff has climbed to 9th in the nation (1st in the Midwest region) in scoring with a 17 ppg average. She also ranks 24th (5th in region) in assists 2.9 pg, and 4th in the region in free throw percentage at 66%.

Ellie moved into the national rankings this week at 22nd in scoring with 14.4 ppg (4th in the region). She's also 5th in the nation (1st in region) in steals with 3.4 pg.

Lyds ranks 23rd nationally (7th region) in 3-point % at 36.4%. She's also 24th (snd region) in free throws at 73.9%. She's also 4th in the nation (1st in the region) with 4.9 assists pg.

Rebekah continues to make a run at the national rebounding leaders with her 5'5" frame. She is currently 5th in the nation (2nd region) with a 10.6 rpg average.

As a team, we're currently 5th in the nation at 66.3 points per game. We're 5th in assists and 4th in steals.

Lady Pioneers start fast, but can't hold on

Well, we lost another tough game tonight that we led at halftime. We lost to NCAA III Finlandia University (Hancock, MI) 74-57 tonight. It was one of those games where the score doesn't tell the story, but at the same time it does....

First off, Northland has been a relatively easy win for Finlandia for years. They are a tough, fast, aggressive running team, and we have never been able to remotely handle the pressure or score with them. But tonight we came out hungry, playing fast and matching their intensity. The pressed us most of the first half and we handled it really well - maybe too well. We scored quite a bit in transition, alot from breaking the press, and had to run our half-court offense very little. Defensively we played fairly well, limiting them to one shot, and taking a 10-point lead with about two minutes left in the half. They finished on a 5-0 run, sending us to the locker room up 40-35.

They shanged some things on defense and stayed away from the press most of the second half, and we made too many mistakes in our offense. We actually held them to four points the first five minutes of the half, but we had only scored three, so our lead was down to four. The next five minutes saw them tie it up, and they took the lead from 10:00-5:00 left in the game. We were out of gas the last five minutes, and during a timeout when down by 10 with 3:30 left I asked the girls if they wanted to pack it in and work on some things for Mt. Mary or Moody, it was a resounding "no." Thmaking the final score more lopsidedey wanted to play to win. As much as their spirit was willing, their bodies were weak, and hope slipped away. Take nothing from Finlandia - they won the second half, especially the final eight minutes in a huge way. They are extremely talented and well coached.

We don't, and never will, count moral victories. However, we played so well for 32-35 minutes against a much better opponent, and had a chance to win the game. From a basketball sense, that is our goal every game.

Statistically, Tiff had another great game shooting the ball, scoring 25 points including 11 of 13 from the free throw line. Ellie scored 14 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and had 3 steals.

We have two really tough games this weekend as we travel to Milwaukee to play Mt. Mary Friday night, and Chicago to play Moody on Saturday. We lost to Mt. Mary at our place last Friday, and the last time we saw Moody was in the Region semi-final where we edged them in a double overtime game. They are a great team this year, and we will have to play our best game of the season to beat them.

Thanks for reading!

Wow, a great way to finish a crazy week!

Well, first things first. We beat Grace Bible College in Grand Rapids 75-69 on Saturday afternoon. This was a rewarding win for a number of reasons. First, we lost to Grace earlier in the year at the Kentucky tournament. Secondly, it's a region game and standing matter when it comes to seeding for the tournament. Thirdly, with the way we lost two heart-breakers earlier in the week, we needed this for team confidence to keep moving towards our goals.

We led by 5 with 5:00 left in the game, and Grace went on a 10-0 run to take a 5 point lead (67-62) with about 3:30 left. We called a timeout, as you would expect, to talk about the next couple of series. Sometimes when things are going the "wrong" way, there can be too many people talking in the huddle. That wasn't the case during this one, as everyone was calm and attentive. K-Mo and Nate suggested a couple of changes on offense with the goal to get us better offensive options on the perimeter, and allow Ellie to get into the middle of their zone defense. They also suggested a defensive change to combat a potential set play from Grace. The results were immediate. Tiff hit a 3-pointer on that possession, and Lydia stole the ball at the other end that ended up in a layup. Tie game. We got another stop and Tiff hit another 3, another stop and Ellie hit a 15-foot jump shot. It's definitely fun to answer a 10-0 run with a 10-0 run!

Here are some interesting individual stats from the game:
Tiffany - 28 points (7 of 13 3pt fg), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
Ellie - 16 points, 8 reb, 4 assists, 6 steals
Lyds - 16 points, 9 reb, 4 assist, 3 steals
Jenna - 11 pts, 14 reb
Rebekah - 4 pts, 11 reb, 5 steals

We still have a lot to work on, but this beats the alternative. This improved us to 6-5 on the season, and 4-1 in the region. The trip home was loooonnnngggg, as we arrived back to campus about 2 am. We praise the Lord, once again, for safety in travel, great times in the Word, singing, praying, and laughing. Love this team.

Thanks for reading!

Lady Pioneers drop heartbreaker, 77-76

Wow - we had several chances in the final minute to beat Mt. Mary College at home, but couldn't get it done. They are an NCAA III team, and have one of the single best players we have ever competed against. Jordan Osley, a multiple NCAA player of the week, scored 37 points against us but we still had an opportunity to win the game.

During the final minute, we missed two free throws, fouled a player shooting a three, and turned the ball over on an inbounds play with 10 seconds remaining. In hindsight, I should have had us run a different play with a different look to it, but the one we ran had worked for layups a couple of times earlier in the game. They deflected the pass, and were able to secure the loose ball and run out the clock.

I continue to be amazed at how we are scoring this semester. A game after scoring 78 points, we come back with 76 this game. Our half court defense hasn't been bad, but we continue to surrender some key offensive boards. Mt. Mary used a serious size advantage to outrebound us 46-33. The effort continues to be there, which is what we can control.

Ellie scored 20 points, Tiff had 18, Lyds 13 and Jenna 10. Rebekah led us in rebounding with 10. Brookes Byard and VanLaanen also made significant contributions off of the bench.

We have to shake this off as we have just arrived at our hotel in Gaylord, MI. After a short night, we leave at 8:45am for our 3-hour drive to Grand Rapids where we play region opponent Grace Bible College. Grace beat us earlier in the year at the Kentucky tournament, and the girls are ready for a rematch.

Lady Pioneers lose 86-78 in overtime

We dropped a tough game last night to UW-Marinette in overtime. I'll write more later (as we're in pre-season and staff in-service as well), but it was a great effort by the girls. In a lot of ways, this was like our first game since there are three players from first semester no longer with us and one new player. The clutch performance of the night was Tiff hitting two free throws with 1.3 left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Like I said, I'll write more later!

Off the court...

Here are a few pictures of some off-the-court action during pre-season so far. Friday night we went bowling with the guys' team. The guys and girls were placed on teams to compete lane vs. lane. In true competitive nature, after 2 games, there was no
agreement which team won!

























One of the primary ways we spend time off the court, especially during pre-season, is eating together! Since the girls come back 2 weeks before the official start of 2nd semester, we end up eating several meals in our home. Saturday night, after 4 hours of practices that was primarily based on conditioning, the girls dragged into our place for french toast night. We prepare it with brown sugar, and also a cream cheese icing that is wonderful. Afterwards they headed down to the den to watch (or sleep through) a movie!

Off and running...a lot!

Well, the second half of the season (and what we refer to here as basketball pre-season)is underway at Northland. The Lady Pioneers returned to campus Thursday night and hit the courts Friday morning for a two-hour practice, and again in the afternoon for two hours. We will practice again Saturday and Monday for four hours, and Tuesday morning for two before playing again Tuesday night. All total, we will practice for 32 hours and play 6 games before the rest of the students return. We spend much of the time in conditioning and getting reacquainted with the play book. We also get accustomed to new players and adjusted to players that aren't here. It really takes a great deal of concentration to focus for that many hours on basketball, but that's part of the training. The first couple of days are the most difficult, but then the time flies and before we know it everyone is here and the girls are in classes again. When we're not on the court, we try to do some fun things to build unity. There is already a bowling night, tubing night and Wii tournament planned. There will be some spontaneous things along the was well!

I'll try to keep you updated with news and pictures over the next few days as we progress. In the meantime, thanks for reading (and Roll Tide!).