Kate wins national Student-Athlete of the Week award

Katelyn won the NCCAA national Student-Athlete of the Week award for her play during our three games last week. She averaged 23 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the games while leading us to a 2-1 record last week. She had game highs of 23 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals in wins against Kuyper College (55-42) and Lincoln Christian University (60-44), and a loss against NCAA III Finlandia University (45-51).

She has been playing at a high level already this season, and the games she had last week really indicate that. She has been fun to watch, but behind every individual award, there is a team that helped make it possible. In other words, she likely doesn't win the award if we went 0-3. She doesn't shoot without someone passing the ball. She doesn't get an assist unless someone scores off of her pass. Her winning was also very impressive when you consider she just completed her soccer season a few weeks ago and really only had about three or four practices with the entire team.

Lady Pioneers in the News

Here's a recent article from our *local newspaper about our last two games.

*local - a relative term that can be defined from a few minutes to half hour away. In this case, half hour because it's the closest newspaper to us. Although it is delivered daily to the campus!

Northland women's basketball - IronMountainDailyNews.com | news, sports, business, jobs - The Daily News

Surprises

I mentioned earlier that Allie's mom flew out from Wyoming to surprise her for the game on Thursday night. With some difficult weather and such, she was running a little late and didn't arrive at the start of the game. Probably was a good thing. Allie ended up picking up a foul in the first minute, and her second about three minutes later. With two personals, I was forced to take her out of the game. I motioned for her to come sit next to me because I wasn't very happy with the way she took an unnecessary risk that resulted in the second foul.

"Do you know why you have to sit here?" I asked. "Because you were upset with missing a shot and you took out your frustration by playing recklessly on defense. Now you have to sit here while we hope the team can keep it together." She was staring at the floor by now. At this exact moment her mom walked into the gym across from our bench. So I continued, "And besides, it's a shame your mom comes all this way to see you sit on the bench with two fouls!" She looked up at me and asked "What did you say?" I said "It's a shame your mom came all this way to see you play and now you have two fouls," while pointing across the gym at her mom.

The absolute biggest smile I've ever seen exploded on her face as she looked back at me, then her mom, then me, then her mom.

She went back into the game with about 13 minutes left in the first half. I don't think she picked up a foul the rest of the game.

Two in a row...now break

As much fun as getting a win was on Thursday night, the thought of getting a second consecutive one on Saturday was even better! We defeated Kuyper College , also a Midwest regional opponent, 55-42 in the final game we hosted this weekend. We had watched them play the day before and saw that they played a 2-3 zone defense for the entire game, so we felt pretty good about our chances because of the way we shoot the ball from the outside.

However, we had to go to plan B at halftime as we were about as cold shooting from the field as you could imagine. We shot 17% from the field from what were honestly wide open looks. We didn't take a poor shot the entire first half, but couldn't get the ball to drop. We were fortunate to be leading 19-18 at the half. The only explanations were that we took care of the basketball (6 turnovers) and played some very good defense. We also did a good job of limiting them to a minimal amount of offensive rebounds. We talked at half about making the extra pass, and not settling for the first shot but looking for the best shot. This was especially important because of the poor outside shooting, but also because of how much space was available in the middle of the zone. Another change we made was asking Allie to deny the return pass back to their best scorer after she gave it up.

The girls took the adjustments and applied them immediately, and we began to stretch out the lead with easy shots in the paint as well as getting to the free throw line. Allie's 2nd half defense limited their scorer to 5 points in the 2nd half (3 of them in transition). Kate led us again with 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Allie contributed 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and two blocks. CJ scored nine points off the bench, and Becca had a game high 14 rebounds.

There were several good performances on Saturday, but CJ's effort was so important. She has been playing good defense the past few games, and earning her playing time based on that. But I know we need her to score a little bit, and she can. So for her to knock down some shots and free throws with confidence will help our team down the stretch. Also, Amy provides a lot of energy and aggression in the lineup. She does so many things that don't show up in the box score, but we need players like that.

As I said in a previous posting, it was awesome to have so many family members of players here to take in the games this weekend. As a coach, I'm definitely reminded what this is all about. I really do count it a privilege to work with these young ladies, and it's always put more into perspective when I get to spend time with their parents.Also, thanks so much to our Northland students and family. You have all been so supportive this semester, showing up to games, and cheering loudly. It's always so encouraging to have a legitimate home gym advantage.

So, now it's time for break. The girls will be back on Jan. 9th, and we will practice the 10th and 11th before traveling to Minneapolis for a 3-day tournament.

Just a reminder. For up to the second information on the Lady Pioneer basketball team, please follow us on twitter @W_PioneerBball. Thanks as always for following.

From 377 down to 2...

I'm a note card guy. Ask anyone that knows me, as much as I enjoy electronic and technological gadgets, when it comes to simple notes and reminders there is nothing more comfortable and dependable to me than a simple 3x5 card and pen. For as long as I can remember, I've prepared for every game by jotting my pregame notes, playing rotation, reminders, scouting report, and our team plays on a card I keep in my pocket. And in the upper left corner, I usually jot down how many days it's been since our last win. With the injuries and youth of the team from last year and beginning this season, the number on the card for last night's card was 377.

But the girls continued on a path they began from a couple of weeks ago of controlling what they control (effort, attitude, and focus, our "three" cornerstones), and the ultimate result showed a 60-44 region win against Lincoln Christian University in the Midwest region tip-off tournament. The easy thing would be to say that I'm proud of the girls, and I am. But I've been proud of them when they've lost many times over the past 377 days - however we're very thankful for the win!

One of things that we talked about and made a goal for last night was to start fast, and we did just that. We were able to open an early 9-3 lead in the first five minutes before LCU went on an 11-4 run to take a 14-13 lead with nine minutes left in the half. However, sparked by a 14-2 run that included 8 points from Kate, we retook the lead and didn't look back, leading 31-20 at the half. There were lots of positives from the half, including our defensive intensity, ball movement, valuing the basketball (only 6 turnovers) and making 7 of 8 free throws. But the discussion at halftime was about the need to start the second half with the same energy and effort that we started the game, and play for a second half win as well.

The girls responded to that challenge as well. Our defensive effort provided some fast break opportunities, and good ball movement allowed some open shots, and we started the second half on a 19-2 run! This extended our lead to a game high 28-point lead with 11 minutes remaining.

Kate led us statistically again with 23 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Allie added 14 points, five rebounds, six assists, and five steals, and Brooke added 14 points, four rebounds, and three steals. Becca grabbed eight rebounds and played great post defense. I was very pleased with Amy's effort last night. While her stat line only shows four points and six rebounds, she provided great hustle and aggressiveness that created turnovers and extra offensive possessions.

We were excited to have several parents and family members in attendance last night as well. Kate's parents from Augusta, GA, Brooke's family from Kansas, and Allie's mom from Wyoming, all made long trips to be here for the win. So thankful for their sacrifice to come and support their girls and the team!

Our attention turns to Saturday now as we prepare for Kuyper College at 1 pm. You can watch here. Personally, I'm looking forward to writing the number "2" on my note card. Thanks for following.

PS - If you can't watch, I encourage to subscribe to twitter and follow in-game tweets and updates at W_PioneerBball.

Lady Pioneers fall in another close game

In the midst of the season-plus slump we've been in, close games have honestly been a rarity. If you've followed the Lady Pioneers during that time, you know the impact injuries, multi-sport athletes, and youth have had to make consistency and continuity a challenge. In fact, it's been rare that we've had opportunities to win games in the final ten minutes, much less, be "in" games the second half. The fear of a coach is that this becomes the culture.

If the last two games are any indication, we have nothing to fear.

Playing against NCAA III Finlandia University at home Tuesday night, a team the Northland women have never defeated, we started slow but played them evenly the rest of the game, dropping a 51-45 decision. We trailed 6-0, 10-2, and 15-4 before going on a 10-1 run to cut the lead to 16-14 with six minutes left in the first half. But the Lions dominated the boards and second chance points, as well as hit some key 3-pointers down the stretch to lead 29-22 at the break.

Finlandia extended the lead to 11 in the second half, but our girls refused to quit. Sparked by good defense and steals, we were able to cut the lead to 43-40 on free throws by Kate with 3:49 left. But four turnovers in our next five possessions eliminated any hope of a rally and win.

My honest assessment is we turned it over too many times (25) and missed too many high percentage shots we normally make (including several layups) to come away with a win. On the positive side, our defensive intensity was great, and as usual, continues to build during the game. Kate had her third consecutive great game offensively, leading us with 19 points. She added eight rebounds, three assists, and a steal while playing all 40 minutes. She also played great defense, limiting their second-leading scorer to just four points on the night. Allie continues to play a vital role, scoring 12 points, with 10 rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Brooke added nine points and four steals. C.J. (Chelsea Goodreau) gave us some good minutes off of the bench with a tremendous defensive effort.

Anyway, it's onward from here with two key regional games this weekend. We host the Midwest Tip-Off event here at Northland Thurs-Sat, with all seven teams from our region in action in our gym. We play Lincoln Christian University on Thursday at 7 pm, and Kuyper College on Saturday at 1pm.

Thanks for reading.

We drop two at home, but are getting better

We opened up our home schedule with two games last week; Tuesday against UW-Marinette and Friday night against Silver Lake College. We had one practice with Becca and Kate (on Monday night) before playing Tuesday. And while there were several good moments in the game, there were more mental and intensity lapses than we could overcome. We trailed early by double-digits, and rallied to cut the lead to seven near half. But two mistakes in the final 30 seconds allowed them to take a 32-21 lead at halftime. We started the second half slowly, and never recovered. Our help defense and rebounding were below acceptable, and despite getting great looks at the basket, shot it poorly, and lost the game 69-40. The point of emphasis following the game was to "control what you control - focus, effort and attitude." Allie led us in scoring with 18 points, and Kate added 10. Becca gathered eight rebounds

We had a brief practice Thursday night, and despite it being brief and having lots of visitors present (High School Invitational Tournament) may have had our best practice in years. The girls were extremely focused and everything was at game speed.

On Friday night, in front of a loud and packed crowd, the girls took another giant step forward with their play. Silver Lake gradually increased to seven points with four minutes remaining in the first half, but we closed on an 8-3 run to trim their lead to 27-25 at the half.

We started the second half on fire from outside, with Kate, Allie and Brooke hitting 3's at different times in the first six minutes. We took a 41-31 lead with 13 minutes left, but struggled to generate much offense after that. We got lots of good looks, but consistently came up short from inside and out while Silver Lake chipped away and eventually took the lead. Allie hit a jump shot with 1:30 left to pull us within one at, 53-52. Despite several good defensive efforts and rebounds, we failed to get a quality look on three possessions, and were forced to foul with 5.2 seconds remaining. After their player missed the front of the one-and-one, we got the ball to Kate who got a good look from about 35 feet, but the ball glanced off the front of the rim, and we lost 53-52. The game was night and day different from Tuesday, with a full game of focus and intensity. Of course making shots helps as well! Kate had a fantastic game with 19 points (5 of 9 from 3pt), 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Allie added 11 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, and Brooke scored 11 as well. We were all encouraged with the effort, but not satisfied. There is a difference.

Again, thanks to our students, guests, and Northland family for the amazing support. It was so much fun to play in an atmosphere like that. We don't take it for granted. Also, thank you for reading.

First trip and games under our belts

We made the 500-mile trek this weekend to Ankeny, IA to play in the Faith Classic Tournament hosted by Faith Baptist Bible College. I've always enjoyed taking the team on a trip early in the season to serve as a binding time, as well as getting to know them better. There's nothing like hours on the road in the van together to find out about your teammates!

While this trip had the potential to meet those purposes, it was also incomplete as we were missing our three returning starters and leading scorers (Kate and Becca leading the Lady Pioneer soccer team to a 3rd place finish in the national tournament, and Brooke who was in her best friend's wedding). In addition to missing them for team bonding and leadership, we were definitely missing them on the court.

We dropped both games we played, including FBBC on Friday night and AIB (NAIA) on Saturday. Of the eight players we took, only one (Chelsea B.) had played college basketball before Friday. While we were over-matched in both games, I was excited to see improvement from game to game, and even half to half. Allie is a very talented point guard, and we definitely look forward to seeing her with different combinations of players. Chelsea G. (C.J.), Amy and Valerie all played well at times and got their feet wet in the new environment. Chelsea B. has improved a lot since last season, and we will look forward to her getting in basketball shape :) Rianna, Claire, and Morgan also had the opportunity to get valuable game experience as well.

So, while I would have obviously preferred to have our entire team available this weekend, the reality was it provided an opportunity to see several of the girls on the court for extended periods of time, allowing us to evaluate them more thoroughly.

After one practice on Monday night, we return to the court against UW-Marinette at 5:30 in the Pioneer Fitness Center Tuesday night.

Thanks for reading!

Congrats to Lady Pioneer Soccer team

On Saturday afternoon, the Northland Lady Pioneer soccer team won the Midwest region championship for the first time by defeating Maranatha Baptist Bible College 4-1 on penalty kicks. It was a fantastic effort by the squad and first-year head coach Nate Chatfield as the rebounded from a 4-2 loss earlier in the season to beat the Crusaders when it counted. In an evenly played match, a couple of Lady Pioneer basketball players played critical roles in the outcome. Kate Matthai took and made the first pk to set the tone for the shootout, and goalkeeper Rebecca Newton made a beautiful save early in the first half, and applied the pressure by saving the first MBBC pk attempt after Kate had scored. Both players were named to the All-region team. The victory earns an automatic bid in the NCCAA national tournament being played in Florida Nov. 9-12....and herein lies the only bad news....we will be without Kate and Becca as we tip off our season with two difficult games in Iowa on the 11th and 12th. Combined with the absence of another starter, Brooke Byard, we will be extremely young and short-handed to begin the season. However, we trust the Lord that we will learn much, new players will get valuable experience, and God will be glorified. As I've reminded everyone who has asked, we're all on the same team: Northland. I'm pumped they achieved one of our goals of a region championship, and extremely proud of Nate for his hard work.

Thanks for reading!

Team is working hard

Well, we're officially into our second week of practices and the team is coming together....sort of. You see, three of our four returners play soccer or volleyball for Northland, and they are heading to their regional tournaments this weekend. Therefore, we haven't had them at practices, but are wishing them well as they compete!

The other eight players have been working hard. We spend the majority of our time each practice working on defensive fundamentals and technique. I've always been convinced that a great defensive team will be in every game no matter their offensive ability. So we'll keep working that area and begin adding the offense when we get the other girls to join us.

Here is the official roster. We return four players, including three starters, from last year's team: Behn 1 ppg, 2 reb pg; Byard 7 ppg, 3 reb pg, 2 steals pg; Matthai 16ppg, 5 reb pg, 3 assists pg; Newton 7.5 ppg, 9 reb pg, 2 steals pg. We also welcome seven first-year players, some who will contribute right away.

Thanks for praying for us this season.

No. Name Yr Height Position Hometown

32 Chelsea Behn Jr 5’8” Forward Chicago, IL

3 *Brooke Byard Sr 5’6” Guard Hutchinson, KS

25 Amy Buhrow Fr 5’5” Forward Reedsburg, WI

35 Rianna DeCleene Jr 5’5” Forward Marinette, WI

15 Chelsea Goodreau So 5’4” Guard L’Anse, MI

10 *Kate Matthai So 5’7” Guard Augusta, GA

14 Rebecca Newton So 5’9” Forward Canton, GA

24 Morgan Peterson Fr 5’7” Forward Jodan, MN

23 Allie Riegel Fr 5’7” Guard Laramie, WY

33 Valerie Roer Jr 5’7” Forward Marinette, WI

4 Claire Smith Fr 5’5” Guard Dunbar, WI

*Captain

Ready to get started; Follow us on twitter; Watch us live

Well, we finished our final "try-out/practice" this morning, and it looks like the team is set. We now have 5 weeks until our first games in Ankeney, IA. There is much work to do, but it really seems that the girls are already very teachable. I'll post an official roster in the next day or so.

Also, if you are a fan, follower, or family member of the Lady Pioneers basketball team, I encourage you to follow us on twitter. This will be a primary method for us to keep you updated throughout the season, especially game updates while on the road. We will also have some fun with it as well. You can follow us (W_PioneerBball) by clicking on the link at the top right.

Finally, we're thankful to announce that all of our home games are scheduled to be broadcast live on the ni.edu website. Hopefully this will be an encouragement to friends and family members around the country.

Thanks again for your support.

coach whitt

Lady Pioneers take the court this afternoon

After 8 long months, the NIU Lady Pioneers return to the court this afternoon for the first of two tryout practices. There are a lot of unanswered questions coming into the season, but also a lot of anticipation. I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for this group during the 2011-12 season. I'm excited to have senior Brooke Byard and sophomore Kate Matthai serving as captains this season. We are working through some details regarding their leadership, theme for the season, and other logistics. Our first game is five weeks from tomorrow!

Check out the season schedule here.

Also, be sure to click on the link on the sidebar to follow us on twitter for practice, travel and especially game updates.

Thanks for reading.
Coach Whitt

Post-season Honors

Just wanted to make it official that freshman guard Kate Matthai was selected by the coaches in the Midwest region as a member of the All-region team. Kate was the only freshman selected to this team this year. She was second in the region in scoring (16.2 points per game), as well as averaged 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2 steals per game. She accomplished this despite playing the final 5 games with a broken hand.

We were also excited that Abi Sexton and Miranda Smith were also recognized as National Scholar Athletes. This award goes to upperclassmen lettering in their sport while maintaining at least a 3.4 GPA. They will receive their certificates later in the semester.

Season comes to an end

The longer I do this the faster the season seems to go. I apologize for not keeping up with the blog regularly this season. There were a number of factors, not the least of which is it was difficult to find different ways to say the same thing. So, at Christmas break I thought I would postpone the blog until the season ended.

We finished 1-24. That's not a typo...1-24. Bottom line is we had season-ending injuries early, and a lack of experience on the floor throughout the season. That's the easy, basketball answer. But there is so much more to this season and team. In fact, I'm going to say something that you will likely struggle to believe - I didn't want this season to end. Here's why.

From the middle of November when we were rendered short-handed and inexperienced, this team has come to practice and worked as hard as any team I've been around. They got a little better from Nov to Dec, but got drastically better from Jan to Feb. This team loved each other and really trusted me and K-Mo. They were absolutely a joy to coach and made this season so memorable and enjoyable. I really wanted to get another win down the stretch....but honestly, not for me....for them.

Anyway, so thankful for each of the 11 players, support staff, and Coach Moses. Abi and Miranda are graduating seniors that played their first season with us. Both have played soccer for Northland for 4 years, and finally gave in to my begging! Miranda improved more than any player, and Abi, while joining in Dec., provided some stability for us on and off the court. Becky is a senior, playing her third year for the Lady Pioneers. She was her normal force on the boards throughout the year (averaging almost 10 rebounds per game), but she really stepped up the final 7 games of the season averaging a double-double. Brooke jumped from a bench role to team captain and starter, and became our primary outside threat. Rachel M. moved from stats to a playing role in Jan., and filled a void for us defensively and with her on-floor communication. The Lord brought two freshmen, Kate and Becca, to us that really had great first seasons. Becca played steady all year, ending with a 10-rebound average, while Kate earned All-Region honors while finishing as our team's leading scorer despite breaking a finger with 7 games left. We also had Bethany, Chelsea, Rachel W., and Jenni filling in roles off the bench.

Sara filled in after her injury to finish the season doing stats, while I'm sure Hannah was the All-region manager! She gave me such peace of mind on trips and at practice. And of course it was great to work with a great friend again, K-Mo.

I will write more at a later time, but wanted to let the 2010-11 Lady Pioneers know how much I love them and am so proud of their character and effort this season. Trust.

Coach