Southern Region Champions!!!

Last night's 86-80 comeback win against Lane CC ran our record to 26-2 and captured the NWAACC Southern Region Championship. We were down by as many as 16 in the first half but regrouped a little and were only down by 8 at halftime. Lane extended their lead to 14 with 12 minutes to go and then we were finally able to get a string of defensive stops. Kristi Fallin scored 18 points in those last 12 minutes to finish with a season high 37 and Miranda Holenstein, Cassie Scheffelmaier, and Titi Takai all made huge hustle plays down the stretch.

I can't tell you how proud I am of the way the girls pulled out the win. It would have been easy to conclude early on that it just wasn't our night but not a single player eased up and not a single player ever doubted. Everyone filled their role to the very best of their ability and definitely played "for" each other not just "with" each other. When we all went out to eat after the game it was hard for everyone to talk because nearly all of us were hoarse from yelling and cheering. Numerous times in the second half our bench would start waving towels and chanting "Defense!" and then the cheerleaders would chime in and then the crowd got involved and the adrenaline started rushing. Mykiea Russell was on the bench in foul trouble most of the game but I don't think she sat down for more than ten seconds at a time! (When we watched the tape tonight after dinner we had as much fun watching the action on the bench as we did watching the game itself.)

For me the best part of the night came immediately after the game when I was able to hug each of the sophomores and let them know how important they are to me. This was the last home game they will ever play at UCC and they created a memory for themselves and for the rest of us that will last for a long, long, time. They have absolutely no idea just how much I've loved being their coach and how much I am going to miss them when they're gone!!

Louisville Coaches Watch Practice

It's an exciting time of year if you're a Riverhawk fan!! We won last night at Clackamas to run our overall record to 25-2 and our Southern Region record to 12-1. It's the 19th time in 22 seasons that we've been able to win at least 25 games and I'm confidant we still have a few wins to go! A win next Wednesday would clinch the region championship and give us a number one seed in the playoffs.

University of Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz and his recruiting coordinator, Stephanie Norman, came to watch us practice tonight and told us they were impressed by how hard everyone played. Normally we take Sundays off but gladly changed our schedule a little when they called and asked if they could fly out and come to practice. Louisville, currently ranked #8 in the country, also won their 25th game of the season by beating Villanova on Saturday and it was an honor to have Coach Walz and Coach Norman come watch and evaluate us.

Overdue Update

I'm a little embarassed that I haven't written anything in close to three weeks. Between preparing our team for our big surge down the stretch, coaching our games, watching and recruiting future Riverhawks, finding our sophomores places to play next year, and watching as many of Brad's high school games as I can, I've hardly had time to think let alone write. When I'm in the car I'm on the phone. When I'm home I'm watching game tape. I have a portable DVD player and so sometimes I'm driving, watching game tape and on the phone all at the same time!! If only I could drive, watch, talk and TYPE all at the same time then this blog would be updated more regularly!

In the last couple weeks we've extended our won-loss record to 20-2, are averaging just under 90 points a game, and have been ranked #1 in the Pacific Northwest in every single poll since early December. All six of our sophomores are generating interest from four year schools and we've sent out a few dozen tapes already. I know there are a lot of coaches at this level who don't feel that it is their responsibility to help their players move on, but Linda and I consider it not only our responsibility but our top priority. . . .probably one of the big reasons why we have so many of our players get scholarships to four year school!

Miranda Holenstein and Mykiea Russell have been spending a lot of extra time working with "The Gun" lately and as a result have increased their range and are shooting very well. We're very fortunate that the UCC gym is available every morning for our players to get some extra work and even more fortunate that we have several players who want to take advantage of that time. The better we get individually the better we'll be as a team!