It was an uphill battle that started with
last Sunday's 20-hour bus trip to Winona Lake, Indiana. Since then, Colorado
Christian Women's Basketball looked past their number eight seed - and fought
past teams that others might have thought they had no chance beating. The
number one seed -- beat them 67-56. Number five (the home team) -- cruised to
a 66-53 win. Finally, Saturday brought a match-up against second-seeded
Cedarville in the Championship game. The Cougars took that one in stride too,
and after 40 minutes and a 62-44 win, CCU owned the NCCAA DI title, the first
National Champion crown earned by any Colorado Christian program in
University history.
"I am so thankful for my team," gushed senior
Kelsie Hert after raising the Championship banner at the conclusion of her
final game in blue and gold. "We have worked so hard, but we have also tried
our hardest to bring glory to God. He has has blessed us beyond measure and
it was amazing to see Him at work during this tournament."
That
sentiment echoed throughout the team after the emotional win. But while CCU
sat in the driver's seat for almost the entire game, it wasn't always so
evident that the Cougars would take home the title.
The contest
opened with a balanced Cedarville squad on a 9-0 tear, leaping out from the
opening tip and taking advantage of early Christian misses. A quick time-out
from Head Coach Tim Hays righted the Cougar ship, and before long, CCU was
in control of a 29-6 run that had the eventual champion up 29-15 at
intermission.
First-half momentum bred a confidence that the
Cougars ran with in the second. Building a lead that extended to 22, CCU
players sensed the time was theirs early on.
"From the very first
day, our goal was to win the whole thing," explained senior Stephenie Allen,
"and after the first game this week I thought we had a good chance. We got
off to a rough start today, but I wasn't panicked -- I knew as a team we would
pick it up, and I was confident that, having worked so hard, we weren't going
to let anything slip away from us."
Though NCCAA Player of the
Year and Tournament MVP Christina Whitelaw was limited to seven points,
sophomore guard BJ Moyes stepped up big. Playing clutch on her birthday, the
Canberra, Australia native exploded for four makes from downtown on her way
to a game-high 19 points. For her efforts, Moyes joined Whitelaw on the 2012
All-Tournament team.
"This is the best birthday present ever! To
win a National Championship and be selected to the All-Tournament team is
beyond what I could ask for," exclaimed Moyes after the win.
"We
really needed others to step up and hit shots," remarked Hays. "BJ really
responded."
As had been the case all week, Colorado Christian's
defense proved too much for the Yellow Jackets as the game wore on. Though out
of the gates, CU seemed to have little trouble with Christian's pesky press,
the Cougars stayed aggressive and eventually wore the Cedarville squad down.
Unable to score from behind the arc (the Jackets went a dismal 1-for-13), CU's
woes extended inside, as the favorite shot a meager 29% from the field. Just
16 Jacket shots found the bottom of the net, as CU managed ten fewer attempts
that did the Cougars.
Colorado Christian also had their hand in 22
Cedarville turnovers.
"They really had a rough time with our
press," continued Hays, "they had trouble getting into their offense. Our
desire to win was overwhelming, and that drove our effort on the defensive
side of the ball."
Moyes and Whitelaw led that assault, combining
for eight of Christian's 16 steals.
Allen and Hert, CCU's only
seniors, wrapped up their careers with eight and seven points apiece, and
combined for ten total Cougar boards.
"It's such a blessing to be
able to end my career this way," summised Allen. "All four years I have
worked to make this program something that creates a bigger platform to
share Christ. Looking back, it's evident that we accomplished that and
much, much more. I am so proud to be part of this experience, and I can't
wait to see future Cougs follow in those steps and do even greater
things."