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

National and Regional Stat Leaders

Well, despite our 1-6 start, I thought I would share some encouraging team and individual efforts so far this season.

From a team standpoint, we rank in the top 10 in the nation in the following categories:

Defense points allowed per game (5^th) 58.6 points

Opponents fg% (7^th) 36.7%

Opponents 3pt fg% (8^th) 29%

We also have some players among the national/regional statistical leaders:

Kate - scoring (9^th /2^nd ) 16.4 points per game; assists (16^th/6^th) 3.6 per game; steals (17^th/5^th) 2.7 per game

Rebecca – rebounds (4^th/3^rd) 11.6 rebounds per game; blocks (nr/9^th) .4 blocks per game;

Becky – rebounds (17^th/8^th) 8.6 rebounds per game

Miranda – steals (nr/8^th) 2.3 steals per game

We definitely don't play as individuals, but it is always worth noting when players are excelling in some areas to contribute to the success of the team! Congrats!

Heading into Christmas Break

As most of you know, this has been a first semester of injuries and youth for the Lady Pioneer basketball team. With two starters and all-region players from last year's team, as well as another returner, out for the season with injuries, we are enduring the process of learning and growing together as a team with only two players that were members of the team last year.

Our first semester came to an end Friday night with a 67-50 loss to Grace Bible College. On the surface, it looks like another double-digit loss to send us to a 1-6 record. However, for me, the team, and the great crowd in attendance, it was easy to see much improvement from our past few games. We played with confidence, purpose, and passion from the opening tip. Players are learning and contributing in their roles better, and it's easy to see that this team is improving and enjoying playing together.

We trailed by 3 with about 90 seconds in the first half, gave up a 3, missed a shot, and then gave up two free throws on a 50-50 call that could have been a charge on a Grace player. We then missed a lay-up at the buzzer to trail 33-25 at the half. We turned it over on our first two possessions for easy lay-ups for them to start the second half, and we go from being down three to down 12 in about 2 1/2 minutes of game time. While our team is improving, we're not good enough to overcome multi-possession lapses. They stretched the lead to 20 before we got very confident and went on a run to close the gap to 8 with five minutes remaining. But Grace slowed it down, got quality shots, and pulled away at the end.

Kate led us in scoring with 15 points. She also had 5 assists and 2 steals. While 6 turnovers is a lot, it's not bad considering she played all 40 minutes with the ball in her hands. Brooke added 14 points, including 3 for 3 from the 3pt line, and had 4 assists. Rebecca scored 11 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. I was probably most excited about her going 5 of 6 from the ft line.

I haven't written about it yet, but we're glad to have senior Abi Sexton join the team. In addition to her being a solid athlete and someone who has already contributed on the floor, she is a great example and blessing of leadership for this young team.

Anyway, we're off for a month before hitting the court again. I think the break is great for the girls, especially the majority of which played other sports in early fall. Thanks for your prayers!

Trust.