Men’s and women’s basketball teams end seasons after upset in Jefferson City
BY : Melissa Wilkinson
Editor-in-Chief
Basketball season ended for the archers last week after both the men’s and women’s teams won their semi-final games but lost their championship matches this weekend in Jefferson City. The men’s team
lost 74-59 to Metropolitan Community College Penn Valley while the women’s team lost 82-77 to North Central Missouri College.
Men’s Head Coach Terry Collins attributed his team’s loss to the resources used during their semi-final game on Friday, March 2.
“I think that after the big win Friday night, I didn’t prepare the team psychologically and emotionally for the next night,” said Collins. “We were playing short-handed because our top two scorers had been injured and we did a great job overcoming that, but we expended too much energy. I didn’t realize that our gas tank was on empty and I needed to fill it back up.”
Melanie Marcy, Assistant Coach for the women’s team, praised her team’s performance on Friday. After a sizable 92-63 victory in the semi-finals, the Lady Archers were “expected to win” their Saturday game.
“Our big thing is always heart and hustle. And we did those things, we just weren’t getting the results,” said Marcy. “We were never down by very much but it felt like, as hard as we worked, we couldn’t take the momentum back to our side.”
Marcy described her team as “heartbroken” over the loss. According to Marcy, her current team is “the best here in nine years”, finishing the season with a nearly flawless record of 24 wins and only three losses.
“Not too many get to end with a win at the end of their season but [the loss] felt devastating because this is the most special team we’ve had and it felt like we were destined for historical things. No one’s accomplished what these girls have accomplished,” said Marcy.
Collins, however, said his team’s season was “good, but not great.” After losing many seasoned sophomores last year, Collins had a “rocky beginning” filling up his roster. Once the new team forged an identity, the two top scorers, Sterling Wooten and Dominique Loyd, were benched due to injuries. The team had only just learned to play without them as the championship game approached.
According to Collins, this season did have some standout moments.
“We beat some teams that are what I would call high resource teams. People like Moberly, Three Rivers, Mineral Area. They offer full scholarships, tuition, room, board and books. They get players from all over the country. Whereas we’re mainly guys that live at home and commute to school, which limits our pool of potential recruits. I think being able to beat those teams was a real credit for our players that hard work pays off,” said Collins.
Marcy said that, though the Lady Archers’ achievements included an initial 13 game winning streak and finishing the season fourth in the nation, her team’s greatest accomplishments are even more impactful.
“Honestly, we’re in this for this girls to be able to achieve success, to go on and win that scholarship and do something with themselves. If we do that, we’re successful. It’s not about our numbers, it’s not about any championships. To have four [sophomores] sign early with division one schools and know that their educations and futures are taken care of is a major highlight.”
For Marcy’s team, it’s back to the grind after a well-deserved week off. But for Collins, there’s no rest in sight as he returns to his post-season tasks; helping his sophomore players transition to their next stage of schooling, setting academic and athletic goals for his returning players and recruiting incoming players.
“Those are the three things that keep me just as busy now as during the season,” said Collins.
