Northwest had a ton of talent, but there were a lot of teams with talent this year in the MIAA. Pitt had a front line that was even bigger than Northwest's, Western and Central were very athletic, Hayes had some insane 3-point shooting, and Emporia, as usual, was loaded with talent. But in order to win in the MIAA or go deep into the postseason, you had to have more than that -- you have to have heart. You have to have heart in order to have an uncanny ability to pull out the close games that Northwest did on a regular basis -- like when Shelly Martin's 3-pointer rescued Northwest against Central in the closing seconds after they had fallen behind. Or when Northwest withstood not one but two huge Washburn runs in order to beat the Ichabods and get into the driver's seat in the MIAA. Or when everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong during a road trip to Truman and Northwest still somehow won by one point against a scrappy Bulldog squad.
But it's a mathematical certainty that every team except the eventual national champs will lose their last game of the year come playoff time and Northwest's run finally ended. Michigan Tech, the team that beat them, was simply the better team that night. Once you get through the conference tournament and get through regionals to the Elite Eight, the level of play gets much bigger -- players are much quicker and much more athletic. Stuff that results in an automatic foul at a lower level of play becomes a clean block instead -- stuff that an average player would try that results in a walk instead turns into a great move to the basket at this level. And Northwest was up to the challenge of keeping up with these teams, getting off to a fast start and holding off Cal-Poly Pomona to win 78-65 to advance to this level.
But Michigan Tech had a guard tandem that Northwest didn't have an answer for -- all night, they would hit shots from 15 feet out with a hand in their face. Sam Hoyt and Lucy Dernovsek each were able to go to the basket at will and Northwest couldn't stop them. Trying to guard them singlehandedly meant a tough jumper that went down or a trip to the line for Hoyt. And trying to help out on Hoyt meant easy weak side layups or kickout 3's. And Michigan Tech was one of the best at setting ball screens -- there were three occasions when one of the Tech players would fake a drive one way, get a ball screen, and go the other way for a 3-pointer. And one critical play happened when Abby Henry, frantically trying to jump through a screen, fouled Hoyt on a 3-pointer and Hoyt knocked all three shots down. And Tech had a post player in Lisa Staehlin who simply stepped past Kyla Roehrig and either went to the line, where she went 12 for 12 from the line, or hit her shot.
Northwest fell behind 15-10 early as Tech was closing hard on Shelly Martin and not letting her get her open looks that she had against Pomona. Northwest was not getting the foul calls that they were used to getting, either getting their shots blocked or getting tied up in the paint -- Tech only committed one foul in the first 8+ minutes of the game. They trailed by as much as six, but Gabby Curtis kept them in the game with a drive and pullup that bounced high off the rim and a pair of free throws that brought them back to within 22-21. Kyla Roehrig was connecting as well, but nobody else was hitting. Gentry Dietz was getting her shots blocked at will and got frustrated at one point, only getting four points in the half. Gabby Curtis sat out much of the latter part of the first half with two fouls and Northwest fell behind by six after briefly tying it up.
But it was Gentry Dietz who did all she could to get her team back in the game in the second half -- after only getting four points in the first half, she got 29 in the second half to score 33 for the game. Abby Henry threw her a high-low pass, Gabby Curtis threw her another, and she got a step-through after Abby inbounded her the ball as she willed her team back into contention at 40-39 after Northwest had fallen behind by as much as seven early on.
From there, it was a battle of wills as the game was tied at 41, 43, 48, and 51. Monai Douglass came off the bench and played her best game of the year, twice getting the ball into Gentry off the high-low play. In a game like this, the first team to blink frequently is the one to lose and Northwest finally blinked as they missed two chances to take the lead; Lucy Dernovsek cut inside for a layup to make it three at 56-53 with 8:10 left. Gabby Curtis missed a 3-pointer and then Angela Guisfredi hit a baseline 3-pointer as Northwest was trying to help out on Sam Hoyt and all of a sudden, it was a six point game.
Tara Roach did all she could to keep her team in the game even though she didn't score as she came out of nowhere to grab an offensive board and got it to Abby Henry for a drive. After Staehlin got to the line off one of her step-thru moves and made both free throws to make it 61-55, there was a glimmer of hope for Northwest as Dernovsek went to the bench for an extended period of time with four fouls trying to guard Dietz as Gentry hit a pair of free throws. But then Kate Glodowski hit a 3-pointer off the bench and Staehlin was all alone for an easy basket as everyone was trying to help on Hoyt to make it 66-57 with 5:23 left.
From there, it was similar to the loss at Emporia earlier in the year -- Northwest played their hearts out, but could not buy a stop when they needed one as everything was falling for Tech. Dietz was getting on the line at will, getting her shots to drop, and everyone sensed it and was feeding her the ball. But they could never get it down closer than seven as Tech was hitting their free throws that night -- 28 for 31 for the evening. Tara Roach was doing all she could to help her team -- she got a monster stuff as Lindsey Lindstrom seemingly had a wide open layup only for Roach to stuff her from behind out of nowhere. Another time, she nearly twisted her shoulder out of place tying up a Tech player. She was constantly rallying the troops and getting them to keep playing when most teams, even good ones, would have thrown in the towel. But in the end, it wasn't enough as they were futilely chasing the Tech players, trying in vain to make a play that would change the game around.
It was the sort of team that lived every moment and played every game like it might be their last. As head coach and master storyteller Gene Steinmeyer said on his blog, four of his five starters did not come the conventional way. Abby Henry was buried on the bench in a D-1 program and got a second chance at Northwest. Gentry Dietz had two major injuries and was still able to come back from those. Kyla Roehrig had played Division One volleyball and decided to give basketball a go after not having played for five years; she played without skipping a beat and did double duty as a volleyball assistant. Gabby Curtis grew up on a Navajo reservation in Arizona before playing Junior College ball in Kansas and coming to Northwest. Shelly Martin was the only starter who came the conventional way.
The Bearcats will miss all four of their seniors. Gabby Curtis was the first player in school history to become an all-American. She typified the kind of team that Northwest was. Last year, they were 14-15 -- which was not bad considering that they had a completely new team that had never played together before. The year before, they had nine wins and having a completely new team can sometimes be a ticket to the cellar. But that year was a disappointment for Gabby, who transformed herself over the summer into a big-time clutch player. Nearly every game, other teams would make a run at Northwest only to have Gabby hit a clutch shot or hit a pair of free throws to break the run -- her four straight points after Pomona had closed to six late in the Elite Eight game turned out to be the dagger. She was one of the better rebounders on the team as well, getting between 5 and 9 on a regular basis.
Kyla Roehrig, at 6'5" created all sorts of matchup problems for other teams. Northwest was able to win the rebounding battle in most of their games thanks to the front line of Gentry and Kyla; she was able to block a ton of shots as well. For not having played ball for five years, she had outstanding court vision as she could pass it off to the open player if doubled. Kyla was a lot more athletic than other teams gave her credit for and set the school record for blocked shots in a year.
Gentry Dietz only had one semester of eligibility left, which meant she could not even practice with the team for the first half of the year. But Gentry picked up right where she left off from last year, cumulating in her 29 point second half and 33 point night in Wednesday's game. She was one of the most competitive players on the team, once getting so worked up that she elbowed one of her teammates during a shootaround really hard and the teammate had to wear ice on her shoulder as a result. But if she was one of the most competitive on the court, she was one of the friendliest off the court, always saying, "Hey, buddy," to people she knew.
Melissa Nyquist was one of those players who got into a state of mind where she was having just as much fun sitting on the bench as she was when she was on the court. She was constantly providing a running color commentary of the game to the rest of her teammates and keeping them rolling on the floor with laughter. She was one of those people who had a nickname for almost everyone she came in contact with and understood Steinmeyer's system as well as anyone on the team and could help her teammates learn it.
But Northwest will have plenty of horses coming back, starting with Abby Henry. Abby has become one of the most reliable assist leaders on the team since Pam Cummings and Dena McMullin, nearly always getting 5 and 9 a game with a season high 11 against UNO. It didn't matter whether she was having a bad shooting night or a good one; she was always able to find the open person. She is so team oriented that Coach Steinmeyer has constantly had to implore her to shoot the ball more.
Shelly Martin is one of the best defenders on the team and is a constant threat to light it up and score 3-pointers in bunches like she did against Pomona in the Elite Eight when she hit five. Both Abby and Shelly are strong clutch shooters; Abby hit a game-winning 3-pointer against Truman last year while Shelly's 3-pointer bailed Northwest out against Central in Maryville. Shelly is a gamer, rarely showing weakness; after missing a game for the first time in her three year career against Truman we didn't realize she was still under the weather for the Central game until we talked to her afterwards.
As much as anyone on the team, Tara Roach is an ambassador for the program. She had a routine during home games this year where she would make the rounds after games, sign autographs for kids, and talk with some of her many friends. Nobody is ever a stranger to Tara, who is one of the most outgoing people on the team. After a burst of adrenaline her freshman year and getting 13 points in her first game, she saw less and less playing time as the season progressed. Coach Steinmeyer, always the master storyteller, recounted that he had seen many such freshmen walk into his office and quit afterwards. But Tara Roach instead remade herself into a role player who was willing to do anything to help the team whether it be defense, rebounding, hitting her deadly outside jumper, rallying the troops, or even pressuring the ball as she did against Tech Wednesday night. She was always counted on to come in and provide a burst of energy while Gentry Dietz and Kyla Roehrig were on the bench.
Monai Douglass became one of the best defenders on the team this year along with Martin and has a lot of potential for the next two years. She has an explosive step to the rim, a strong 3-point shot, and could grow into one of the assist leaders on the team. She got stronger as the team made their deep run in the playoffs, playing a good floor game and finding the open person. Ashley Thayer has a strong 3-pointer and a ton of stamina; she hit two in Northwest's one-point win over Truman right when Northwest needed them the most. Meridee Scott is lightning quick and could develop into one of the fastest guards of the conference. Jennifer Jasinski has potential as a shooter. Alexis Boeh has a floor game similar to Tara Roach; she started off the year hurt and could have red-shirted, but she elected to play instead and brought a ton of energy to the floor every time she went in. Her twin sister Candace Boeh has a wide variety of post moves that she is capable of using. Emily Hauder, who took a medical redshirt after the early part of the year, plans to come back next year; she will be one of the most versatile players on the team; she can play either outside or down low. Tarkio product Denise McEnaney signed to join the team next year; she blew her knee out this year while playing for Tarkio, but when healthy, she can drive to the rim at will and she really extended her shooting range before she got hurt.
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