Lady Archers get first win at Nationals.
By: Spencer Gleason
-Sports Editor-
The 2012-13 Lady Archer basketball season came to a close last week when the Lady Archers were defeated by Owens Community College, 73-51, for their second defeat in the double elimination National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tournament.
As Owens began to pull away on the scoreboard, STLCC still cheered their teammates. Only after the final buzzer sounded did the emotion of “that is it” set in.
“It doesn’t matter when you lose. When you do lose, it’s disappointing. Most of the time it’s because we didn’t have our best game,” Lady Archer Head Coach Shelly Ethridge said. “But there is always going to be a winner and there’s always going to be a loser. We came up short today to a very, very good ball club. We’re number 12 in the nation. I’m very proud.”
The road the Lady Archers traveled to enter the NJCAA Tournament was one neither Ethridge nor Assistant Coach Melanie Marcy saw coming. In August 2012, the Lady Archers’ roster began their preseason with 13 names. Over the course of the regular season, STLCC lost four players — their four top scorers, who combined for 40 points per game. They entered the NJCAA Tournament with nine players on roster.
According to STLCC sophomore guard, Kirstie Owens, the team overcame their difficulties and became more close-knit.
“We went through a lot of struggles and hard times and downfalls,” Owens said. “That just shows how tough we were to get through all of that and still be able to finish our goal. Our goal was to come to the national tournament. We’re a good team.”
Of the 129 NJCAA women’s basketball programs at the Division II level, only 16 make the trip to Illinois Central College (ICC)in East Peoria, Ill. – the host of the 2013 NJCAA Tournament. The STLCC Lady Archers made the top-12 and were one win away from playing for seventh place.
“It is remarkable to watch these young ladies form right in front of us, from ball players to young ladies, from young ladies to ball players; kudos to both coaches.” Rick Maclin, father of STLCC’s Lauren Maclin said. “They don’t know the word ‘failure.’ They don’t know the words, ‘let’s give up.’ They persevered through all that adversity.”
The first game loss to ICC, 63-43, forced the Lady Archers into the consolation bracket, where they faced the Chesapeake Community College Skipjacks. The Lady Archers, who lost to the Skipjacks in the 2012 NJCAA Tournament, prevented history from repeating itself. Beating the Skipjacks, 77-67, the 2012-13 Lady Archers became the first STLCC Archer women’s basketball team to win a NJCAA Tournament game.
“I’m so proud of [the kids],” Ethridge said. “Everything that they accomplished this year, with having the numbers that we’ve had, it’s just been phenomenal. I’m super proud of these guys.”
