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