First ever Lady Archers basketball team makes an appearance in National Tournament, wins 20
Spencer Gleason
-Sports Editor-
When a team loses, the lasting moments that are replayed in the minds of players and coaches, alike, leave a question of ‘What if?’ For the 2011-2012 Lady Archer basketball team, it is not a question of ‘What if?’, but more of a look at how far they have come.
In a season of firsts for the STLCC Archers, the first ever Lady Archer basketball team, a squad that included no returning players from last season, 12 freshman and two sophomores, came together overcoming a 6-6 start in their first 12 games and finished 20-8. They won the Region XVI Championship and appeared in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament—one of only sixteen teams to do so.
“I hope [our fans] are proud of their team,” Shelly Ethridge, Lady Archer head coach said after their 65-61 loss to the Mesa Thunderbirds, in first-round play of the NJCAA Tournament. “I thought our girls played really hard. I thought they kept fighting. They certainly didn’t give up.”
Following their loss against Mesa, the Archers lost to the Chesapeake Skipjacks, 60-54. In the double elimination tournament, the Archers went 0-2, but the experience helped the maturing process of the youthful squad.
“I’m glad that they got to experience this national tournament this year,” Ethridge said after their loss to the Skipjacks. “I hope that they recognize what they need to do so that we can come here again next year.”
While they finished the regular season on an 8-game winning streak and continued to win both the semi-final and final game in the Region Tournament, the Lady Archers won 10 in a row. With their showing in the national tournament, they set multiple records for the STLCC Archers, etching their names into the Archer history books and setting the bar high for teams that follow.
“It’s really exciting, not just for my daughter, but for all the kids to get a chance to play in an event like this,” Rick Maclin, father of Archer center Lauren Maclin, said. “This is awesome. This is really awesome.”
