DU Women’s Club Basketball earned second place at the Regionals Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska in a weekend matchup against five teams: University of Colorado at Denver, Missouri State University, Colorado State University and Iowa State University. In addition to the second place finish, two athletes won All-Tournament Honors.
“This is the best we have ever done in my three years on the club team and I am glad we all came together and played so well,” said junior forward and president of the club Catherine Ray (Parker, Colo.). “It is really exciting for us as a club to have this kind of success, and I think it will help us to develop a winning culture going forward and hopefully generate more interest in our club.”
The Pioneers came out strong in the first game of the tournament, beating CU-Denver 38-19. In their next game, Denver lost to Missouri State, 41-35. But the excitement picked up in the semi-final game against CSU that put the Pioneers in the Championship. Guard Rebecca Grant (Petaluma, Calif.) scored a big three-pointer for the Pioneers near the end of the game, and in the final minutes Ray hit crucial free throws to seal the win, 27-24.
“Collectively we played as more of a team than I have ever seen us play. We had good ball movement and high defensive intensity,” said sophomore point guard and vice president of the club Sydney Mock (Truckee, Calif.).
In the championship game, the Pioneers lost to Iowa State University 55-33. Despite the loss, Ray and Mock both earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
“This tournament was different because we had confidence going in,” Ray said about the weekend games. “I think we all knew we were capable of winning this regionals, and having that perspective from the beginning helped us to have high expectations for ourselves. Our confidence really showed well on the court and helped us to get into the Championship game.”
DU Women’s Club Basketball will be playing in the Nationals Tournament at Ohio State on April 20-23. They meet every Tuesday and Wednesday in the Ritchie Center to practice from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.
