Sunday, March 27, 2011

A Thrill Ride to Remember


RSU Women's Basketball reach new heights in 2010-11 season.

If you missed your chance to catch the Rogers State women's basketball team in action, then you've missed out on a special season.

RSU women knocked off four Top 25 teams during the 2010-11 season, making their first Sooner Athletic Conference championship and NAIA national tournament appearance while tallying the most wins in program history with a 23-10 overall record.

The Hillcats finished the regular season on a strong run, winning the last nine of ten games claiming sole possession of the fourth seed in the Sooner Athletic Conference.

Heading into the SAC tournament, RSU sought revenge in their third meeting with John Brown with a 60-55 victory. After falling twice to JBU, the payback was more bitter than sweet.

"We didn't really celebrate," said senior forward Candice Stewart. "That win was expected."

The Hillcat women stayed focused as they pounced on Oklahoma Baptist for the third time this season, wiping the Lady Bison from the tournament 74-59.

Yet, RSU were unable to topple Southern Nazarene in the SAC Championship falling 52-48.

The Hillcats post-season efforts earned themselves their first bid into the national tournament in Jackson, Tenn.

The Rogers State women put forth one of their best defensive performance in their national tournament debut but could not find similar success on the offensive end. RSU controlled the opening 33 minutes but Westminster College was able to fight back as the Hillcats had one of their worst shooting nights of the season.

The Hillcats reached the end of their season ride, falling to Westminster College 60-56.

"I think our players know that we played well enough to win the game, we just didn't shoot well enough to win the game," said Williams. "It's tough when you lose a game like that but we're still proud of everything we've accomplished."

Seniors Hunter Peterson, Andrea Miles, Cortney Crockett including Stewart completed their college careers as a Hillcat.

Though a tough season-ender, RSU women reached their ultimate goal of making a national tournament appearance leaving their mark in school's history.

"This was a really good team this year," said Stewart. "Once we finally figured out our chemistry, we were special together."

***


Photo by gssphotography.com

No comments:

Post a Comment