By Mark Simon
D3hoops.com
About a week or so ago, in the midst of an e-mail exchange with a Division III coach who had just completed his first season coaching women's basketball, we were asked an interesting question.
What separates the championship teams from the rest of the pack?
In trying to answer that, we drew upon the knowledge from having been to four of the previous five Final Fours. The Washington U. dynasty that won four straight national titles, had the two most talented players we've seen in 12 years covering Division III — Alia Fischer and Tasha Rodgers. Trinity ( Texas), the 2003 champs had unmatchable height, making it almost impossible to score against, and a tremendously successful system that was based on unselfish play. Wilmington had endurance. The Quakers won the 2004 championship because they finished games better than anybody else and were able to survive the marathon that is a basketball season
We had resolved to ourselves that we would try to view this year's final two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in a different light, to try to answer that question again. On the surface, based on the size of the two teams that were in the championship game, the answer could be height — that bigger is better. But, after watching closely, and relaying the question to people we encountered this weekend, the answer this season was an intangible — leadership.
Two hours before the championship game, Millikin head coach Lori Kerans spoke to that subject during our pregame broadcast interview. Her answer lasted nearly two full minutes, excerpted here in part:
"I would encourage coaches to recruit great kids, which may be different than great players. I think great people will carry you a lot further than a great player will. For the players out there, choose a leader well. If you want to be a leader, step up and take that risk and that responsibility and if you know someone in your program who is a leader, give them the authority to lead, because the leadership that our captains have given us has been invaluable. Those are what keep the foundation of a program, rock solid."
Those words answered the question, and the actions of one of Millikin's three captains, senior point guard Audrey Minott (a tri-captain with Abby Gerlesits and Kristin Trotter), demonstrated their value.
Every year, it seems that one player at the Final Four captures our full attention — whether it be superstars like Fischer or Rodgers, all-around amazing players like Allison Coleman (Eastern Connecticut State), or a defensive wizard like Bowdoin's Justine Pouravelis. This year, it was the 5-foot-5 Minott (the smallest player on the court this weekend), playing the position her coach played at the Final Four 20 years ago, and playing it like a champion. Minott entered the last two games of the season, averaging only six points per game, and as someone who was seeing Millikin for the first time, we can tell you that those numbers didn't do justice to this player, but those of the last two games did.
In the national semifinal against Southern Maine, Minott played all 40 minutes and had the basketball in her hand at every key moment. She finished with a very efficient 10 points, going 2-for-3 from the field (both 3-pointers), and on a day where her teammates struggled with free throws, she was 4-for-4 from the foul line down the stretch. She also had four steals and four assists. Dave Fitzgerald, Minott's basketball coach at Central A&M High School, in Moweaqua, Ill., was Millikin's alumni representative on our halftime show and told us how Minott, who went from a 50% free throw shooter in high school, to better than 70% in college, had a knack for incredible clutch plays in big games.
This form of leadership was about poise — any time Millikin had trouble in an offensive set, the ball found Minott's hands, appearance — Minott's teammates looked tired at the end of the game, but Minott looked like she could've easily played another game, and confidence — Minott wasn't afraid to take a big shot or make a big play in a setting where Kerans admitted her team was quite nervous. At the end of the semifinal, a 66-60 win, Minott was calm and collected, offering a handshake to teammate Lindsey Koehn when the final buzzer sounded.
"To me, being a leader is about setting the standard," said Minott. "It's about showing the girls what Millikin basketball is all about."
In the championship game against Randolph-Macon, Minott set the tone at the start, scoring the game's first basket on the way to tallying 15 points. Amazingly, she didn't have an assist in the box score, but her helpers were of the subtle variety. Was it a coincidence that freshman sensation Lindsay Ippel, a great story in her own right (emerging as a star at season's end after playing junior varsity for three-quarters of the season), went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the title game, one day after a 1-for-7 performance there? The leader set the standard, going 5-for-6 both from the field and foul line in 39 minutes of unflappable play. Her teammates followed suit and responded to the pressure with their best performances.
The result was one of those games you dream about. Ippel finished with 25 points. Junior forward Joanna Conner had 14 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists and was named Most Outstanding Player on the All-Tournament team. The defense forced Randolph-Macon to miss 20 of its first 22 shots in the second half, when the Big Blue pulled away en route to the 70-50 win.
Minott's basketball career was one in which the best was saved for last. She won a national championship in her final collegiate game, and now it's time for graduation, and graduate school, to pursue work in the field of sports management. Kerans likes to tell players that life is like a movie, and in this case, the final scene featured members of Minott's family helping carry the championship trophy out of the Batten Center.
"It's a great credit to the leadership on this team," Kerans said, delivering another analysis on that subject. "What Audrey has done will set a new mark for how to behave, compete and perform on the basketball court."
Remembering the tournament
We managed to get through this year’s national championship using only one notebook, though it is nearly filled from spine to spine with notations, observations, significant statistics, and most importantly, meaningful memories. We told you what we’ll remember most about the victorious Millikin squad, but here are a few of the other highlights we encountered along the way.
Randolph-Macon: A ‘super sleeper’ (as we dubbed the team in the preseason, thanks to one coach who tipped us off) woke up from their championship dream one win shy of a national championship. It was a tough way to end the season, particularly for senior sisters Emily and Sarah Crider. The ‘buzz’ on the Yellow Jackets next season will be about guard Megan Silva, and rightfully so, but the Criders will be missed, probably more than those outside the program can fully comprehend. Both Emily and Sarah dealt with adversity in their basketball careers — Emily had a close friend die in a car accident and played this season as a tribute to her, coming through with one of her best performances in a 15-point effort in the semifinal win against Scranton. Sarah sat out a season with chronic fatigue syndrome and returned to become a valuable reserve. There were plenty of tears, hugs and thank yous, both from them and for them, after their careers were completed.
“This has been the most amazing, hardest working team I have ever known,” said Emily Crider, who plans to become part of the large alumni contingent that made a lot of noise at the Batten Center. “I know that next year, they’ll be holding the championship trophy and I’ll be right there cheering them on. “
Southern Maine: It turned out that the last basketball team left standing from Maine wasn’t Bowdoin or Bates, but the folks from Portland, for whom a 20-win season is such a common occurrence that we now take it for granted. Of the four teams in Virginia Beach, the Huskies are probably the ones most likely to find their way to Springfield, Mass next season, as they won without a senior on the roster and will have two of the nation’s best all-around forwards in Megan Myles and Ashley Marble returning. Southern Maine coach Gary Fifield, usually very serious in our encounters with him, offered a brief smile when we congratulated him on winning National Coach of the Year. We realized one reason why he won from watching him work. Within two minutes of the semifinal postgame press conference concluding, Fifield and his staff were up on the press level, closely eyeballing both Randolph-Macon and Scranton as if they were preparing to play in the championship, rather than the consolation game
Scranton: Much like the teams that Mike Strong brought to the national semifinals in 1999 and 2000, the Lady Royals took their loss in this year’s semifinals particularly hard. Scranton’s players are used to winning. Strong’s recruits typically come from squads at which winning championships was the norm and that dominance carries over into the MAC Freedom League. As my fellow broadcasters John McGraw and Gordon Mann both pointed out, the continuous pipeline of talent that comes through the school is amazing. Every year, you’re amazed by the veteran returnees, like senior center Eileen Webster, and even more impressed with the newer, younger stars like sophomore guard Taryn Mellody. A couple of Scranton’s players were pretty critical of their own play following the loss to Randolph-Macon. “You guys beat yourselves up too much,” Strong said, then drew laughs when he added. “I’ll still take you back next year.” We have a feeling they’ll be taking him back, to another crack at things before their careers are over.
Best player: The term ‘whirling dervish’ was made for the likes of players such as Randolph-Macon junior guard Megan Silva, a flashy, exciting, multi-talented player who made the game fun to watch with her behind-the-back dribbles, her leaps out of bounds, her unselfish passes, and her very accurate shot on the move. There were stories written of how Silva went to last year’s championship, took careful notes and presented them to her teammates so they could adequately prepare for this season. That’s what leaders do, and while our spotlight story focused on leadership from the championship team, there was plenty to go around, and Silva was one example of many.
Favorite Fact: Didn’t get a chance to ask about this one, but according to the team media guide, Millikin senior forward Karin Olson, who was out with a broken foot (coincidentally, Wilmington won last season without it’s starting power forward who was out due to injury), played both defensive end and wide receiver for her high school football team in Plainfield, Ill.
Funniest moment: At least from our perspective, the athletic staff at Virginia Wesleyan did a nice job of making sure things ran smoothly at the Batten Center the last two seasons. We did chuckle at one finding though, one that shows that the best-laid plans always have a way of not working as you wish. When we walked into the building the morning of the national semifinals, we learned that the shootarounds had been delayed for 15 minutes. Someone apparently could not locate the most important thing needed for a championship tournament — the basketballs.
Quotable: “I didn’t have any gray hair. That team gave me my gray hair.”
— Scranton coach Mike Strong on the Lady Royals national championship team of 1985, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this season.
“If anyone has seen her play, there’s nothing pretty about it, but she has great hands, great instincts, and great character. She makes the ugly stuff smell like roses at the end.”
— Millikin head coach Lori Kerans on freshman star Lindsay Ippel, who went from playing three-quarters of the season on the junior varsity to leading the team in scoring in four of the five NCAA Tournament games.
“This is the most emotional team I’ve ever coached.”
— Randolph-Macon head coach Caroll LaHaye after watching her players during the postgame press conference.
“It’s a testament to the character of this team. It’s a team award and a staff award, and an award for the university as well.”
— Southern Maine head coach Gary Fifield on winning National Coach of the Year honors.