First game blues

We typically open the season on the road, traveling to some tournament or tip-off event. This year, for whatever reason, I scheduled this game with Andrews University (USCAA) to occur the week before our tip-off event at Moody. After watching us struggle a great deal in the first half, I remember why I like these games on the road :) We lost Saturday night 61-40 after trailing 33-16 at the half.

The truth is we have only had five full practices before Saturday night, and only 20 minutes of actual scrimmage time. So in a lot of ways Saturday was an extension of our practice season. This is to take nothing away from Andrews, as they were clearly the better team that night. However I think we improved so much from the first half to the second, that there is reason for everyone to believe we will have some fun days ahead.

But lest I sugar-coat it: it was not pretty at times. Surprisingly, we only turned the ball over 17 times for the game. Also, we were aggressive with the basketball, getting to the line 37 times! That is unheard of. The down side is we shot so poorly from everywhere, including the free throw line, that it made little difference in the outcome. The good news is that I know we have some quality shooters on this team that had poor shooting nights, and we will defend and rebound better. That comes with practice and work. We're definitely committed to that.

As many of you know, eight of our 11 players were playing volleyball or soccer as recent as 2 weeks ago. So many of them haven't picked up a basketball in over 5 or 6 months. Despite that, the effort was there and that's what gives everyone promise!

K-Mo and I already love this team and the effort. I think there is a lot of upside, and we will continue to work hard!

Trust.

2010-11 Schedule

Nov. 13 Andrews University [H] 5:30 PM

Nov. 18 Philadelphia Biblical University (at Moody) [N] 5:00PM

Nov. 19 Lincoln Christian University [N] 3:00 PM

Nov. 20 Emmaus Bible College [N] 12 Noon

Nov. 23 Silver Lake College [H] 5:30 PM

Nov. 30 UW-Marinette [H] 5:30 PM

Dec. 3 Grace Bible College [H] 6:00 PM

Jan. 11 at Mt. Mary College [A] 7:00 PM

Jan. 14 at Grace Bible College [A] 5:00 PM [Est]

Jan. 15 at Kuyper College [A] 1:00 PM [Est]

Jan. 18 at UW-Marinette [A] 5:30 PM

Jan. 21 at Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI) [A] 2:00 PM[EST}

Jan. 22 at Moody Bible Institute [A] 1:00 PM

Jan. 25 Maranatha Baptist Bible College [H] 5:30 PM

Jan. 28 Mt. Mary College [H] 5:30 PM

Jan. 29 at Silver Lake College [A] 1:00 PM

Jan. 31 Gogebic Community College [H] 5:30 PM

Feb. 4 at North Central University [A] 6:00 PM

Feb. 10 Finlandia University [H] 5:30 PM

Feb 12 at Gogebic Community College [A] 1:00 PM

Feb. 15 at Finlandia University [A] 5:30 PM (EST)

Feb. 18 North Central [H] 5:30 PM

Feb. 19 Faith Baptist [H] 2:00 PM

February 24-26 NCCAA Midwest Regional Tournament (A) TBA (EST)

(Lincoln Christian University– Lincoln, IL)

March 10-12 NCCAA National Basketball Tournament

Roster announced

2010 Lady Pioneer Basketball Team

32 Chelsea Behn

Height: 5’8”

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Major: Sports Ministries

Life Verse: John 6:33

3 Brooke Byard

Height: 5’6”

Hometown: Hutchinson, KS

Major: Family & Women’s Ministries

Life Verse: James 1:2-4

23 Bethany Chatfield

Height: 5’6”

Hometown: Burt Lake, MI

Major: Family & Women’s Ministries

Life Verse: Psalm 143:8

25 Jenni Delorge

Height: 5’7”

Hometown: Charlotte, VT

Major: Elementary Education

Life Verse: Philippians 4:13; Psalm 18:30

15 Ellie Hodak

Height: 5’5”

Hometown: Brooklyn Park, MN

Major: English

Life Verse: Isaiah 26:3

33 Kate Matthai

Height: 5’7”

Hometown: Augusta, GA

Major: English Education

Life Verse: Philippians 1:20-21

14 Rebecca Newton

Height: 5’9”

Hometown: Canton, GA

Major: Camp Ministries

Life Verse: Isaiah 26:3-4

5 Sara Seering

Height: 5’5”

Hometown: West Bend, WI

Major: Elementary Education

Life Verse: Psalm 73:25-26

10 Miranda Smith

Height: 5’6”

Hometown: Howard, PA

Major: Camp Ministries

Life Verse: Isaiah 26:3-4

11 Becky Thomas

Height: 5’7”

Hometown: Dunbar, WI

Major: Family & Women’s Ministries

Life Verse: Philippians 3:12

4 Rachel Williams

Height: 5’2”

Hometown: Land O’ Lakes, FL

Major: Bible Expositions

Life Verse: Isaiah 12:2

Hannah Kurtz (manager)

Hometown: Nappanee, IN

Major: Office Administration

Life Verse: Galatians 2:20

Rachel Murray (stats)

Hometown: Buhler, KS

Major: Family & Women’s Ministries

Life Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6

Open Gym now; Tryouts Coming Soon!

Well, it's hard to believe but it's that time of year again. The returning players have been running open gym scrimmages and conditioning workouts for girls interested in playing for the Lady Pioneers during the 2010-11 season, and official try-outs have been scheduled for Oct. 18-19.

This should definitely prove to be an interesting season for the team as several key contributors from last year's squad have either graduated, injured, or finished their eligibility. So this means there are many great opportunities for new players to step up and make a difference early. I've been impressed with some of the freshman and transfers I've watched play, and there are still a few girls that can't scrimmage yet because of volleyball and soccer. I honestly think the potential is there for a successful team if some of these newer players will commit to working hard in practices.

Click here for this year's challenging schedule. You will see a great balance of home and away games, as well as a traditional region schedule that proves to be the most challenging in the nation. We also have a great non-region schedule again this year, including games against 3 teams that participated in last year's national tournament in Philadelphia.

Anyway, just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that with the changing leaves here in the north woods, our attention is rapidly turning towards basketball!

Basketball Camp Begins Monday!

It has been a busy and fruitful summer at Northland Camp, and difficult to believe the staff has been together for 8 weeks already. But as we enter this week of Camp, it also marks one of my favorite of the entire summer: Basketball Camp! Understand, Girls' Basketball Camp is only one of eight camps going on this week (Guys' BBall, Soccer, Volleyball, Music, Drama, Teen, PV), but totally unbiased, it's the BEST!

I'm anticipating 35 girls arriving here tomorrow to begin a week that will be filled with basketball, Bible, new friendships, laughter, and memories. We will spend over 20 hours on the court in drills, personal development, and scrimmages, but more importantly, the entire week emphasizing the greatness of our God and our dependence on Him. We'll enjoy the preaching of Evangelist Jeremy Frazor in the evenings, and our Life in the Gospel study through I John 4 with Evangelist Will Galkin.

I'm also thrilled to have Coach Moses helping me with the Camp again this year, in addition to Lady Pioneers Tiffany Chatfield and Taylor Ollila. Former camper Erin Stuerewald will also be returning to help with camp. We also have 4 of our summer camp counselors assigned to help (Holly Stuerewald, Emily Kutz, Sarah Hayes, and Tiffany Bennett), as well as super program guy Aaron Boyce.

So, despite the chaos of administrating all of the camps and being responsibile for the girls' basketball camp, it's definitely a week to get excited about. Please pray for us!

Register for Basketball Camp NOW!!

Depending on where you are in the country, it may be difficult to think about summer camp. Here at Northland, we have enjoyed some of the warmest March days in years, with temps today hitting 65!

I wanted to take the opportunity to remind all of you about our Girls' Basketball Camp here at Northland. This year's camp is July 26-31, and promises to be a great time of physical and spiritual challenge. In addition to on the court instruction about basketball, the coaches and I enjoy presenting a Biblical philosophy of athletics that we desire to see them take with them back to their schools and teams. We also have quite a bit of fun!

Please click on the here for more information, or feel free to email me for additional details!

Tiffany Named All-American

I was thrilled to hear that one of our captains, Tiffany Chatfield, was selected as a 2nd team All-American by the NCCAA. Tiff had an outstanding season for us offensively, and filled the roles of student-athlete, team captain. and a first-year wife very well!

T averaged 18.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. She finished 1st in the region and 5th nationally in scoring, 6th in the region in 3-pt fg percentage (33%), and 5th in free throw percentage (73%).

Although a junior, this was T's 4th year of eligibility in basketball. This was also only her 2nd complete season as she spent a semester traveling on a ministry team for Northland, and 2nd semester last year with Nate while he student taught. I'm confident T could have challenged some Northland basketball records had she played 4 full seasons, but I'm thrilled God allowed her to be a part of this team for as long as He did.

I also know T would want to thank her teammates for their support and play, making an individual honor like this a possibility. This marks the 3rd straight season that a Lady Pioneer has been selected to the All-American team.

Congrats T!