Women to face MSU-Moorhead at Regionals Friday |
| Posted by Administrator on Mar 11 2009 |
Photo by Cody Riedel
Assistant coach Karin Nicholls, left, gives some words of advice to sophomore forward Katie Hall, and the Loper bench during the first-round RMAC game last week at the Health and Sports Center.
By Stacy Laue
Antelope Staff
Defense. Passion. Attitude.
Three qualities the women's basketball team displayed in this year's RMAC Shootout in Pueblo, Colo.
Friday's game pitted No. 2 seed UNK (19-8, 14-5 RMAC) against No. 3 seed Colorado School of Mines (17-10, 14-5 RMAC).
The air was filled with excitement and pride as 6 p.m. rolled around at the Colorado State Fair Center.
Junior Megan Becker of Beaver City said the team was raring to go before the game. "We want to play hard and have fun today. We are super pumped," Becker said.
Athletic Director Jon McBride was proud of the how far the women's basketball team had come. "I am impressed with their attitude and character. I am proud of the way they bounced back this year," McBride said.
Becker said the team had been working toward this day for the past seven months.
"You are going to see more passion today than you may have seen all year. For the seniors especially, we've never won a conference tournament and we want to prove to everyone we can do it," said Becker.
Before the game began, the crowd of Loper fans grew immensely. Among the fans were members of the Pep Band and the entire women's softball team. Both groups were ready to cheer on the Lopers.
The Loper women tore up the court during the game. Senior Jade Meads of Elm Creek scored 20 points followed by senior Jonni Mildenberger of Sterling, Colo., with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Vanessa Leeper of Colorado Springs added eight points and six rebounds.
In the end, Colorado School of Mines earned a 63-56 victory over the Lady Lopers.
Head Coach Carol Russell said the team played great defense all throughout the game.
"We are slightly disappointed because the seniors haven't won a championship game, and it was one of our goals," Russell said.
Senior Kassi Schuppe of Illiff, Colo., also thought the team excelled at defensive stops.
"That's what we always like to do. We have worked really hard all season," Schuppe said.
Despite the loss, Meads and Mildenberger were extremely proud of their teammates.
"We went out there and played our hardest. We never gave up," Meads said.
Despite the loss, the Lopers qualified for the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament for the third straight year. The Lopers are seeded No. 4 and will take on the No. 5 seed Minnesota Moorhead Dragons Friday at 8 p.m. in Mankato, Minn.
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