Courtesy of Nick PovalitisThis was not supposed to be the team to bring the Washington University women’s basketball team back to the Final Four. The losses of standouts Kelly Manning and Danielle Beehler were supposed to be too much to cope with.
At the beginning of the season, the Bears did everything to prove the critics right. They opened the year with a 1-3 record and fell out of the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings for the first time in the poll’s existence. It looked like their season was done practically before it had begun.
Instead of caving in, however, the team turned its season around in a big way. They won 24 of their next 27 games, unexpectedly making it all the way to the national championship game last weekend in Springfield, Mass. Despite losing to DePauw University (31-3) in the title bout, 55-52 in, the Bears (25-6) made their November performance an afterthought.
“During the beginning stage of this season, we were all just getting to know each other,” explained sophomore Halsey Ward. “We weren’t meshing yet. As the season progressed, we came to realize who we were as a team. We each became aware of the
role we needed to fill to have this team succeed.”
To get to the championship game the Lady Bears easily defeated archrival NYU the previous afternoon, 72-53.
Both teams came out of the gates tentatively Saturday, leading to a slow and low-scoring first half. The game remained very close for the first 11 minutes of play, but with 8:30 left in the half, the Tigers began to find their groove and jumped out to a six point advantage thanks to senior Liz Bondi who scored six points in just over a minute. Wash. U. sophomore Jaimie McFarlin was quick to respond for the Lady Bears, scoring six points and grabbing three rebounds in the next two minutes to bring the Bears within two. The game remained close throughout the half, with the Tigers leading at the break, 24-20.
Wash. U. came out of the gates cold to start the second half, while the Tigers simultaneously found their groove. In the opening eight minutes of the half, they outscored the Bears 13-2, giving DePauw a cushy 15 point advantage.
“DePauw took a big lead, and we didn’t respond quickly enough. We needed to have a greater sense of urgency. Our offense took too long to develop, and that is what hurt us,” said Ward.
But the Bears refused to go down without a fight, as a lay-up by senior Rebecca Parker closed out a 19-5 Wash. U. run midway through the second half, cutting the Tigers lead to one at 42-41 with six minutes to go.
DePauw’s lead fluctuated between two and six over the game’s final moments, but clutch free throw shooting down the stretch ultimately sealed the fate of the Lady Bears, as a Wash. U. three-point attempt fell short just before time expired.
Ward led the Bears with 16 points while McFarlin, who represented Wash. U. on the Final Four All-Tournament Team, added 12 points and 11 rebounds. The title game performance gave her 12 double-doubles on the season. Parker added nine points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Even in defeat, the Bears still found the overall experience of playing in the Final Four to be an incredible one. “It was all unreal. Surreal. Unbelievable,” said Parker.
After the loss on Saturday, players were quick to attribute their success this season to the team as a whole and found advantages to lacking a star in the line-up. “Teams never know who will be hot that night. There is no one person to shut down and make our team crumble,” said freshman Janice Evans.
“Other teams never knew who they would need to stop on offense and we were able to build our defensive system on all of our athletic abilities,” added McFarlin.
Even with the impending loss of Parker, Southworth, fellow starter Sarah Schell, and Nicky Huels, the team has the potential not to miss a beat next season. The Lady Bears return two starters in McFarlin and classmate Jill Brandt, along with Ward who served as the team’s staple sixth-man. Sophomore and former UAA Rookie of the Year Shanna-Lei Dacanay is expected to return after suffering a torn ACL nine games into this season.
The Bears also return a strong group of current freshmen who appear to be more than ready to step up to the challenge of being team leaders. Zo‰ Unruh scored 11 twice in the tournament, once against Luther College in the Sweet 16 and again against NYU in the national semi-finals, averaging 8.1 points per game on the season.
Evans proved to be an aggressive defender, notably blocking two shots against Luther. She also established herself as an accurate shooter throughout the season, hitting nearly half of her attempts from the floor. Laura Lane-Steele has also shown an ability to capitalize on limited playing time, scoring seven points in eight minutes of playing time against Luther.
“The youth movement continues (into next season) and the effect of the Final Four experience on our current freshman and sophomores will shine through to next season,” said McFarlin.
“We will be young, but fast and hungry for what we just had a taste of,” added Evans.