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.