Saturday, March 25, 2000
Norse face five-time champions
BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
PINE BLUFF, Ark. — Michelle Cottrell and roommate Michele Tuchfarber, having secured a berth in the Division II national basketball finals, said Friday they were too excited to sleep the previous night.
But their Northern Kentucky University coach, Nancy Winstel, slept soundly. Hoop dreams ensued.
“I've been dreaming about this my whole life,” she said.
A team figured a year away from its peak somehow stands at the summit. NKU, devoid of seniors in its nine-player rotation, plays today for its first national championship in any sport.
So much for a rebuilding season.
“I think we're all a little surprised,” junior forward Jessica Jenson said. “But everyone had so much heart and all the same goals.”
NKU graduated six seniors after a school-record 30-victory season, returning just two starters and four players total. Yet it stands 31-2 with the No.2 ranking, carrying a 23-game winning streak into its meeting with No.3 North Dakota State (28-3) at 4:30 p.m. today at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2, a fact not lost on the Norse.
“As much as they wanted to get to the finals, they wanted to get on TV,” Winstel said.
Tuchfarber, listening, rolled her eyes knowingly. An “ESPN2 or bust” banner the players painted hangs from the Ramada balcony.
“Everyone has already called everyone they know back home, telling them to watch us,” junior forward Julie Cow ens said.
Winstel, 46, took the Norse within one victory of the finals twice before, in 1987 and again last year. Having been a player on NKU's first women's team 25 years ago and coached here 17 years, she takes pains not to take this for granted.
“For years, NKU was a respected program, but we had not reached national prominence until last year,” she said. “Now that we're in that spotlight, I feel proud and excited and humbled to be here. I think we belong.”
The title tilt pits new blood against blue blood. This is the Bisons' eighth appearance in the finals; they have won five times. Coach Amy Ruley has won 80.4 percent of her games in 21 seasons.
There are no Division I universities in her state, so Division II basketball reigns. NDSU games are televised statewide. The Bisons and archrival North Dakota have combined to win eight of the last nine national titles.
The Bisons even have the National Player of the Year, 6-foot senior center Jayne Even, who averages 20.7 points and 9.6 rebounds.
Winstel, meanwhile, considers this season a secret soap opera.
“Being as young as we are, we have moments where we tend to ditch the game plan,” Winstel said. “People think this is so easy, but they haven't been in practice when we're ready to kill each other.”
NKU has trailed late in the second half of all four of its tournament games, behind by double-digits in two of them. The key to its comebacks is a diverse offense, one Winstel calls the best in her coaching career.
The Norse shoot 48.6 percent from the field and 43.7 percent from 3-point range, ranking second nationally in both categories. Cottrell (17.2 ppg, 9.1 rebounds), Amy Mobley (8.3 ppg, 6.3 rebounds) and Cowens (7.6 ppg) hammer inside; Tuchfarber (13.4 ppg), Heather Livingstone (11.5 ppg) and Bridget Flanagan (5.9 ppg) drop the daggers outside.
The defense is keyed by Jenson (4.5 ppg).
“When you add it together,” Winstel said, “it's like all the pieces fit.”
Cottrell, an All-American sophomore, and Tuchfarber, a junior, are the keys. They are the only second-year starters, the proven leaders, the biggest weapons. “We're here, and we're going for it,” Cottrell said.
NKU believes in power of prayer
Sports Stories
Mercado looks like shoo-in for Reds
Reds play like it's fall
Reds admire Edmonds deal
Concepcion visits Reds
Reds Game Report
