Lady Archers pull off a Regions XVI Championship title—the first in the infant history of the STLCC Archers.
By: Spencer Gleason
Sports Editor
For the first time in Archer history, STLCC will be represented in the national tournament. The Lady Archer basketball team will be one of only 16 teams to participate in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) version of March Madness.
“They’re a bunch of competitors,” head coach Shelly Ethridge said. “They don’t want to lose. They fight and I love that. I love that they have a lot of heart and a lot of passion for the game and they like to play for each other. They are a big close-knit family.”
After defeating the Lady Comets from Cottey College, 71-62, in the semi-finals of the Regions XVI Tournament and the Lady Scouts from Penn Valley, 63-55, in the finals, the Lady Archers managed to pull-off a three-peat against both division rivals, giving them a Regions XVI Championship title—the first in the infant history of the STLCC Archers.
The No. 12 seed Lady Archers will face off against the No. 5 seed Mesa Community College Thunderbirds from Phoenix, Ariz. for first-round play on Wednesday in East Peoria, Ill. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m.
The Thunderbirds, whose regular season record of 22-7 ranked them sixth in the final regular season poll, average 63.3 points per game. This is their first NJCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
The Lady Archers regular season record of 20-8 gave them a top 20 ranking in the final regular season polls.
Although the young team of 12 freshman and two sophomores head into the tournament, having never played on the highest stage of junior college basketball, Ethridge and assistant coach Melanie Marcy have been there before. While coaching the 2010-2011 Meramec Magic to a national tournament appearance, they said they believe the 2011-2012 Lady Archers will “make some history of their own.”
“I think they feel like they have a lot of pressure on them.” Ethridge said after the victory against Cottey College. “I told them ‘Nobody is really expecting you guys to win. You are too young. So let’s just play and have a good time with it.’”
