Rewarding Recap- Lady Suns Women's Basketball Season

SETTING OFF       

Last November, the Lady Suns set off to start basketball season with the usual nerves and excitement that go along with the anticipation of major competition; but no one could have predicted what the stars had in store for Cedar Valley's Lady Suns this season! 

Indeed- they were seemingly not lining up right at the beginning, but the Suns proved to be the real stars in control of their destiny. Taking fate into their own hands, the three-game losing streak they opened the season with would soon be foreshadowed by the eclipse of a historic season in the making.

MAKING HISTORY

Next up on schedule, was the first of a six-game regional conference- the Dallas Athletic Conference, which was dominated by the Lady Suns the previous year. Unwilling to let go of their title, they stepped up their game and beat the Mountain View College Lady Lions 60-46. Thus, began the first winning streak of the season. Not to say, they did not run into any turbulence along the way. 

Some games were won, others were not but the Lady Suns always managed to get back on orbit. Before they knew it, the season was already halfway over but the excitement was still picking up all around them as the community increasingly took notice of the team's success. Though, it wasn't always the Lady Suns team making headlines. Members of the CVC women's basketball team managed to stick out individually as well. 

All 24 of the nationwide regions competing within the National Junior College Athletic Association chronical their various conferences by publishing collegiate competition profiles. These are roughly done on a weekly basis throughout the season by featuring various student athletes competing on behalf of participating institutions. The process is initiated by coaches, as they decide the best team member to represent their institution's sport by submitting a "Player of the Week" nomination. Then, the NJCAA compares nominees from all other participating institutions submitting from the same regional conference, using a highly competitive evaluating process in which both academic and athletic performance are taken into consideration, before deciding the most deserving student to award the honorable mention. This weekly announcement was always highly anticipated, as many of the season's highlights resulted from the recognitions of fellow Suns acknowledged on behalf of Region V for their exceptional participation in the Dallas Athletic Conference. 

They were not always chosen to represent DAC's Player of the Week for Region V every single week…but they did represent DAC's winning team for Region V each and every week! Subsequently, the Lady Suns were announced as the 2020 champs- two whole weeks before the conference even ended! This not only marked the second time the conference had ever been held but dominated by the Lady Suns as well. They seem to have established a tradition with maintaining the championship title at CVC. In the process of doing so, the Lady Suns became the one and only undefeated basketball team of the Dallas Athletic Conference by the end of this year's competition. Therefore, setting a new record with the Dallas Athletic Conference. Having achieved all of these accomplishments by February, the Lady Suns were on a roll and still had a lot more game left in them to continue basketball season with more matches through March.

MARCH MADNESS

It was time for the Lady Suns to join the likes of March Madness. So, they headed out to Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland to face off against the Lady Owls for the Southeastern District Championship!

Behind them, were fellow Suns: Director of Athletics, Krasi Kolarov, Athletics Advisor, Maria Freeman, Head Woman's Basketball Coach, Latasha Roach and Assistant Coach, Zoderick Green, Terry Normore and Taylor McKinney. Together, there were enough Suns to light up a galaxy. So, it came as no surprise when the Lady Suns set the match ablaze from the start. 

It was a good one too! As close as it gets. The Lady Suns led the first quarter then, the Lady Owls led the second. Catching up, the Lady Suns won the third but narrowly lost the fourth. After tallying up points, the Lady Suns still took home the championship, 62-63! No way! The Lady Suns just blew everyone away and as people began to take notice, they wondered how a team with less than two years of existence got so far in competition. Next- a new team at nationals! 

NEW….NATIONALS?!

Cedar Valley College may be new to the collegiate competition of women's basketball but that didn't stop them from reaching the top. Believe it or not- the Lady Suns still were not done making history yet! As sports fans across the nation turned their attention towards Rockford, Illinois for March Madness, they were shocked to learn about Seed #8.

The women's basketball team of Cedar Valley College was a team so new- it was still comprised with some of its inaugural members! Just shy from completing their second year of competition, the Lady Suns were already the undefeated regional conference champions two-years in a row. Only days prior, the team had traveled cross country to their first district game where they claimed their first district championship, just nabbing seed #8- reserved for the 2020 Southeastern District Champs competing in the national championship tournament. To top it all off, they were already standing out at the national level on their own merit- prior to their arrival at nationals. Seemingly out of nowhere, a new team unheard of now led the nation as the number one three-point shooting team of Division III women's basketball. Not bad for a "rookie"! Indeed- the Lady Suns had been discovered and people seemed to be observing them suddenly from afar, as if they were viewing a newly discovered star through the lens of a telescope.
  

WAS IT A BIRD…A PLANE…? NO- IT WAS THE SUNS!

The Lady Suns' emergence onto the national competitive scene was mysterious and elusive but it was only a matter of time before people got to know them. Since, no one was going easy on the Lady Suns anyway. This may have been their first appearance at nationals, but that didn't spare them from being scheduled to play the opening game. Ultimately- kicking off March Madness! As if that wasn't nerve wrecking enough, the Lady Suns just so happened to get paired along with the nation's top seed- The Lady Warriors of Massasoit Community College (AKA- the nation's top offense scoring team)! 

Nice try- but it takes much more than a few warriors to even intimidate the Lady Suns! So, CVC gave those Lady Warriors the war they came for, beating them with room to spare- 68-73. Meanwhile, people couldn't believe the game they had just witnessed, as the "underdog" of the competition upset the undefeated, number one offense scoring, top seed in the nation. With the quarterfinals behind them, the Lady Suns advanced onto the semifinals and were scheduled to take on the Northland College Lumberjills the next morning. Now that the Lady Suns had everyone's attention, it was time to prove that upset was no beginners luck, by putting on another good game.

GOOD GAME

The entire semifinal match was insanely suspenseful! The Lady Suns played head to head against the Lady Lumberjills in their closest game yet. At times, it seemed the Lady Suns would win then, the Lady Lumberjills would catch up. Suddenly, during the last few seconds of the game, the Lady Lumberjills scored. Northland College narrowly took the lead and from one moment to the next, it was all over. The score- 50-49. CVC just barely missed out on making it to the finals but by that time, they had already proven themselves as a tough team to challenge. Their powerful performance could no longer be dismissed as "beginner's luck". Evidently, many of those that got to watch the Lady Sun's in action, argue that it was actually the Lady Lumberjills that got lucky that day! 

Still, the Lady Suns put up a superb effort and came really close to becoming the national champions. Their debut at the Div. III Women's Basketball National Championship was dubbed "historic" by the National Junior College Athletic Association and it just doesn't get any better than that. Even though, the Lady Suns didn't leave the tournament as the champions that weekend, they left with something far more meaningful- Legacy!

STARS AWARDED

As mentioned, the Lady Suns didn't go unnoticed. As a result, the last day of competition was still a triumphant one despite, not participating in the finals. The tournament hadn't even come to an end yet, the Lady Suns already had awards with their names on them. So, they were left with no choice but to make room for CVC once again, as the Lady Suns joined the celebration at that evening's award ceremony.  

 Sophmore Alana Rusk was named "Player of the Tournament", topping the All Tournament Team selected at the national championship.

Coach Latasha Roach was awarded "Coach of the Year" for the Region V Dallas Athletic Conference AND the Southeast District.