By John Kendall
IV Leader Staff, March 19, 2009
Facing a national basketball perennial house, the IVCC
Lady Eagles did everything they could do to head to the NJCAA Tournament finals;
however, Louisburg, North Carolina, rated No. 14 in the nation in District II
basketball, finished the game on an 8-0 run, ending the Lady Eagles season with
an 84-78 loss on March 9.
To make the District play-in game, the equivalent of a
high-school supersectional, the IV Lady Eagles (27-7) defeated Carl Sandburg in
the Region IV tournament, a team that won the Arrowhead Conference this season,
70-68 in overtime.
Virginia Trotter was named MVP of the tournament, while
Trotter and Amy Gumm made the all-tournament team. Steve Crick was named coach
of the tournament as well.
“It was a great year and we lost to a great team tonight.
They just had too much size for us and lobbed it inside and we couldn’t stop
that,” Crick said. “We couldn’t stop No. 15. She is too good. We missed our last
two to three shots and doggonit, we lost by six. We gave it all we had. I am not
sure what else we could have done. I will probably lose some sleep over this
one. I will tell them in the locker room just how proud I am of them,” he added.
In an e-mail statement, IVCC President Jerry Corcoran stated,
“to say that I’m proud of this team, our coaching staff and the fact that they
won the Region IV Championship, which advanced IVCC to the national tournament
(placing us in the nation’s final 24), would be an understatement. The
Louisburg, N.C. team that barely beat us [Monday] night proved why they are a
perennial national power. Our Eagles made a heroic stand on behalf of their
courageous coach. The fact that we were able to play before a packed crowd was
especially gratifying.”
“We appreciate the great fan support and wish we could have
gotten the W for them,” Crick stated about the fan support at the game.
An 8-0 run in the final 2:34 of the game sealed IV’s fate;
however, the Eagles were in the game until the final buzzer. After falling
behind by nine early in the second half, the Eagles clawed back, courtesy of
field goals by Helen Muleya, Trotter, and Melissa Clements. A Trotter jumper
would give IV a 61-60 lead with 9:42 left in the second half, but the lead was
short, as Louisburg quickly regained the lead.
With 6:39 left in the game, Courtney Johnson hit a three to
tie the game at 69, and was followed by a three point play by Muleya. The game
would be tied two more times, before two Trotter field goals and a Johnson layup
gave IV a 78-74 lead with 2:34 to go. IV also fell behind early to begin the
game, but gained its first lead at 11:28 in the first half, when Muleya
converted an old-fashion three-point play. Clements added to the lead with a
turnaround jumper, but the Eagles would trail until the five minute mark in the
half.
Following a Gumm three to cut the Hurricane lead to two,
Trotter would hit a jumper, and Johnson added a three pointer to give IV a 38-35
lead with 3:55 left in the half. Two Trotter free-throws and a Muleya
three-point play gave IV its biggest lead of 43-35 with 3:10 left. However,
Louisburg staged a rally and trailed at halftime 46-45.
Muleya led the Lady Eagles with 23 points.
“She kept us in there,” Crick stated, while Virginia Trotter
scored 20 points. “She is special and in my opinion, she is All-American. She
had to sit for a while due to foul trouble, but she is a great player for us and
can’t say enough about her,” Crick said about Trotter.
Sophomore leader Courtney Johnson, in her final Lady Eagle
basketball game, scored 14 points. “We are going to miss her leadership and
appreciate her two years here,” Crick stated about Johnson.
In Corcoran’s statement, he added: “To head coach Steve
Crick, assistant coach Rex Shanyfelt, Beth Prostko, Cynthia Moore, Amy Gumm,
Kelcy Thorsen, Courtney Johnson, Audrianna Blake, Virginia Trotter, Karlee
Osborne, Helen Muleya, Laura Lovgren and Melissa Clements: congratulations and
many thanks for a memorable season!”