By John Krueger

ROCKFORD, Ill. -- Bob Amsberry jumped into a fire that many coaches -- young or old -- would have avoided when he took his first head coaching job at Rockford College. But the college and Amsberry are still collecting the dividends since his appointment as women's basketball coach less than three years ago.

By John Krueger Danielle Johnson, Nikole Longhi and Heidi Burkhart listen to Rockford head coach Bob Amsberry during a timeout.

During his short tenure as the Lady Regents' boss, Amsberry has taken a team with a NCAA Division III record 70-game losing streak and turned it into a very competitive squad. With six regular-season games left in the 1999-2000 season, Rockford has a 13-5 record, including a 4-1 league mark, that has the Lady Regents challenging for the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference championship and a possible berth in the NCAA Tournament.

And the best is yet to come.

The women's basketball team at Rockford has struggled for some time. When Amsberry was hired before the 1997-98 season, the Lady Regents were in the midst of the 70-game skid, which was a record Amsberry and the college would like to soon forget. The mark also tied an all-divisions record set by Division II Notre Dame de Namur (California) between Dec. 15, 1988 and Feb. 13, 1992.

Rockford's mark, which began Dec. 1, 1995, was at 44 losses when Amsberry stepped on the floor of the purple, black and white for the first time. His first season continued the struggle, posting a 0-25 record, including a 0-10 mark in the NIIC.

But through the perils of the initial season, Amsberry knew he had to remain patient and stay with his long-term plan.

"I knew coming into the job that we had major rebuilding ahead of us," Amsberry said. "I knew the program hadn't had a winning season in a long time, but I also knew that the area had a lot of great basketball players and there were a lot of teams with winning traditions around. Rockford College has a good reputation (academically) and I knew I could build a winner here; it was just going to take time.

Although he didn't have hands-on experience as a head coach, the Buena Vista graduate had coached at MacMurray in Jacksonville, Ill. In five seasons as an assistant at MacMurray, he helped turn a team that only posted five wins in the 1991-92 season to back-to-back conference championships, a school record for wins in a season, and the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.

The last conference title the Lady Regents captured was in 1990.

"Having helped turn the program around at MacMurray gave me confidence coming into the situation here," Amsberry continued. "We built a playoff team in 3-4 years there, so I knew it was going to take patience and time; but I knew what it took.

"Realistically, I thought I needed 2-3 recruiting classes to be competitive."

Since he took the Rockford job after the recruiting season was over, Amsberry's first recruiting class didn't step on the floor at Seaver Gymnasium until the 1998-99 season, his second at the school. The losing streak was snapped Nov. 21, 1998 when the Lady Regents defeated Webster University 87-60.

The first recruiting class included eight players who are still on the team -- one senior and seven sophomores. Danielle Johnson, now a 5-10 senior forward, is the elder statesperson. The other seven players were straight out of high school.

Although young, the Lady Regents showed improvement in the 1998-99 season, recording a 6-19 mark, 2-9 in NIIC play.

"Danielle (Johnson) has been a key to getting this program going," Amsberry said. She was a junior college player and brought a lot of stability to our team. She took on a leadership role and that has helped a lot with the younger players. And it was nice to have a player who could come in and compete right away."

Amsberry used the nucleus of his first class and added eight more recruits to this year's team. They include junior college transfer Liz Sweet, a 5-8 junior guard (Rock Valley JC), Heidi Burkhart, a 5-8 sophomore guard (Highland CC), and Nikole Longhi, a 5-9 sophomore forward (U. of Cape Breton) as players with college experience.

Amsberry also went the high school route, welcoming five more freshmen to camp.

None of the Lady Regents currently on the squad was a member of the team when Amsberry arrived took over.

"I'm fortunate to have kids to come in and believe in my philosophy and the program we have here," Amsberry continued. "Each player that has come here has worked hard day after day to improve themselves and the team."

Amsberry's rebuilding process has also included two exceptional assistant coaches, Tony Garrett and Dan Koenings.

"Tony and Dan have helped me recruit, plan practices, work with different areas of the team and they have given me a lot of ideas on tactics," he said. "They are also extra eyes and ears for me during games. They're invaluable."

Although his team is still very young with five freshmen, nine sophomores, one junior and one senior, Rockford College has made tremendous strides during the current season. The Lady Regents' 4-1 league mark leaves them tied with defending conference champion Clarke (9-6, 4-1) with five conference games left.

Rockford isn't playing like a team with young players. The Lady Regents have already posted a five-game winning streak, have a 6-3 road record and have won their last six at home. Their biggest feat came Jan. 25 when they snapped Clarke's 22-game regular-season conference win streak with a 69-50 win at Seaver Gymnasium.

"When I came here I wanted to build a program that was going to be successful and respected in the conference, the region and nationally," Amsberry continued. "We're not quite there yet, but we're making great strides in that direction.

"This year's team has really excelled more than I thought they would. Maybe the results can't be seen on an individual basis, but the players have really jelled as a team. And the amount of improvement by each player has caused us to be a better team every time we step on the court. All the players are unselfish and help each other so we can be a better team."

One of the reasons for the surge in victories this season is Burkhart. She is currently tied for 22nd in scoring among Division III players at 19.4 points per game, is hitting 52.4% (118 of 225) of her field goals, 38.1% (24 of 63) of her three-pointers and 70.7% (70 of 99) of her free throws. She is pulling down 5.06 rebounds per game and has 49 assists.

"Heidi has been a big asset to the team. I knew she was a great player the first time I saw her in high school. I think Rockford College was lucky to get her and she was lucky to come here. She really excels in our style of play and she's really worked hard to improve since arriving."

Burkhart was named to the D3hoops.com Team of the Week earlier this season and has been honored by being named Player of the Week in the NIIC.

Another statistical leader on the team is Nichols, averaging 11.2 points and 5.41 rebounds per game.

"We are a young team and that's why it's so important that we play well together," Amsberry said.

"I'm really excited about what's ahead here at Rockford College. We're young, but our players are getting as much experience as some older players are at other schools. We're winning close ballgames and that means we're maturing. And that only means that better days are ahead for Lady Regent basketball."