Lady Crimson Suffer Season-Ending Defeat by Kenyon

Loss Ends a Bitter, Frustrating Season

The Lady Crimson basketball team concluded their season Tuesday night, losing in the first round of the NCAC Tournament to Kenyon College, 64-57. Although they lost, it wasn't because of lack of heart and mental preparation. Their last game was a loss against Earlham College, 69-61, and although they lost the contest, they finished 12-13. After the game, the Lady Crimson saluted their two senior players, Chamia Peterson and Shakila Williams. Junior Rachael Barbee commented on her thoughts about the season and the contribution they made to the team: "We started the season with new talent this year and I hope to see our team effort and cohesion develop further in the years to come. Chamia and Shakila will be greatly missed. Besides the great contributions they made on the court, they were great family-figures, as well as a support system," said Barbee.

Head Coach Ann Gilbert is optimistic and pleased with the success of the team thus far and has already set out on goals for next year: "We need to work on physical strength, mental attitude and mental toughness. Our team has a special positive element: they are hard-working and want to win, but we need to work on raising the level of intensity of our players to have the will to prepare to win and part of that entails leadership to set the stage for that."

Assistant Coach Ann Majors agrees and also commented on her expectations in regards to the tournament game against Kenyon: "As we get more opportunities to win tournaments, we must have the heart and desire in the players first. Physical toughness and a confident attitude are key."

The team will lose only Williams and Peterson and with a talented group of incoming freshman, it is evident that the team is still in the building process. Williams has witnessed the progress of the team and emphasized the fact that with a group of young players, it is essential to note that talent takes time to be developed: "Our team has the potential to be NCAC Champions. It is impressive to see where the program started and where it is going. Despite the fact that we may not have performed as well in numbers as last year, there has been a 180 degree turn around since I came here and I know we're going to keep getting better."

Sophomore Captain Nzinga Broussard agreed: "We missed out on the contributions from last year, but the returning players and freshman stepped-up and were able to rise to the occasion."

First-years Malisha Richardson and Rachelle Tarbell contributed mightily during the year. They both enjoyed the season and were glad to be part of a very receptive and helpful basketball program.

Coach Gilbert has worked hard in building a successful basketball program for OC. For the first time in 10 years, the Lady Crimson beat Wittenberg University, the number-one ranked team for years, twice. Sophomore Becky Kanuch said the victories over Wittenberg were one of the biggest highlights of the Yeowomen's season: "It was my favorite game. I could see it in all of us - the eye of the tiger - it was desire, confidence all in one."

As for preparation for next year, Broussard, sophomore guard, talked about the team's performance and plans for the future: "Going into the season we had the potential to win the conference, but because of conflicts with our goals and our actual performance we weren't able to achieve everything we sort out to achieve, but we've already talked about improvements for the future."

The team expects to work on physical strength, aggressiveness and ability to read various defenses. They plan to enhance their speed and athletic ability through off-season strength training. Coach Gilbert commented on further goals for the team to work on in upcoming years: "We want a competitive practice environment every day in order to work on physical and mental toughness because through it we can meet the challenges that come our way."

Not in my house: Sophomore Becky Kanuch guards sophomore Nzinga Broussard. (photo by Brian Hodgkin)