The DU women’s basketball team is used to a challenge, and the players have to be if the Pioneers want to get a bid to the NCAA tournament in March.
The team has already beaten a ranked opponent this season – a first in school history- and they knocked off Sun Belt Conference rival Western Kentucky on the road earlier this month, another program first.
However, neither of those games are as important as the two that lie ahead for the Pioneers (11-7, 3-2) this week.
On Wednesday, DU hosts Arkansas State (10-9, 3-3), a pivotal match-up for positioning in the West Division standings of the SBC.
Currently, the Red Wolves are a half-game behind the Pioneers for the second spot in the West, which would be good enough to get either team a bye in the first round of the conference postseason tournament in March.
“We’ve had big wins this season, but conference play is what it’s all about for us and every game is important so we can put ourselves in position to get that bye in the first round and then work toward getting the bid for tournament,” said associate head coach Yvonne Hawkins.
The Pioneers’ biggest match of the season comes on Sunday when they travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to play Middle Tennessee, one of two undefeated teams in the conference.
The Blue Raiders (14-4, 5-0) have won eight of their last nine games with a mid-week contest against Troy on Wednesday night.
“You have to take each game one at a time,” said Hawkins last week. “You can’t forget about Middle – they are always in the back of our mind.”
Arkansas Little-Rock (11-5, 5-0) also is in the mix for conference superiority, leading the West Division with a two game lead over the Pioneers. DU travels to UALR on Feb. 2 and will attempt to avenge 49-46 home loss to the Trojans.
For DU, the team is coming off a 71-63 home loss to Florida International, where the team struggled to defend the three-point shot and finished with zero points off the bench.
With a big game looming, the Pioneers look to the three star players – senior Brianna Culberson and juniors Britteni Rice and Kaetlyn Murdoch.
Both Rice and Murdoch have eclipsed 1,000 points, while Culberson waits to hit the mark within the next couple of games.
“It’s quite the feat when you think about it,” said Hawkins of the three players career-scoring totals. “Not many teams are able to say they have that and with three really good scorers it is hard for teams to take away one without paying the price somehow.”
In addition to the “Big Three” as Hawkins anoints them, the Pioneers host a trio of other players who are consistent players.
Sophomore Emiko Smith leads the rest of the Pioneers up the court as the team’s point guard, averaging 5.5 assists a game.
A pair of freshmen, Quincy Noonan and Maiya Michel, are also are drawing attention from their coaches.
Noonan is No. 4 on the team in scoring, while Michel has been a key low post player.
“Quincy Noonan has found her niche and has been really big for us all season, while Maiya Michel has become a rebounding beast,” said Hawkins.
With other role players adding to the mix, the Pioneers seem to have a balance between the upperclassmen and the younger pupils.
So far it has helped the Pioneers rise toward the top. Now the question looms: can the team take over the top-spot in the SBC?
It starts this week.
