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NCAA Women's Tournament Capsules: Intense Mulkey points Baylor to round of 16 again
WACO (AP) — Kim Mulkey will stomp her feet or scowl if a referee makes a questionable call. If one of her Baylor players makes a mistake, she will often get an animated expression from the coach.
Pacing and pointing, Mulkey shouts out instructions from the sideline and sometimes frantically waves her arms to direct her team — or get a ref’s attention. And it doesn’t matter if the Lady Bears are trailing or have a big lead, which is more often the case.
"She’s so fiery," senior guard Melissa Jones said. "She does everything in her power to get us a win without actually being on the court doing it."
Mulkey is demanding and her expressions match her intensity. She has been that way winning national titles as a head coach, assistant coach and pigtailed point guard — the only person ever to accomplish that trifecta.
"Kim Mulkey’s competitive nature and her competitive spirit and her drive to win have made her an outstanding basketball coach," said Leon Barmore, who recruited Mulkey to play at Louisiana Tech, hired her as a coach there and is now one of her assistants.
"Some people say, well I want to win, and some people say I’m driven," he said. "Some people may show it in different ways, but Kim shows it and wears it on her sleeve and her team feeds off of her."
Baylor (33-2), the top-seeded team in the Dallas Regional, plays Wisconsin-Green Bay (34-1) on Sunday. The Lady Bears are in the NCAA round of 16 for the third straight season, and sixth time in eight years.
When Mulkey arrived in 2000, Baylor was coming off a 7-20 season, was the last-place team in the Big 12 and had never been to the NCAA tournament. The Bears have been 10 times since, winning the 2005 national title and going to the Final Four last season.
At times, Mulkey seems so distraught that it looks like she might burst into tears. That can change just as quickly to her slapping her hands together and encouraging her players.
Mulkey gets so involved in games that sometimes she’s not even aware of her expressions or what she does. She is sure to find out from her mother or her children, including daughter Makenzie Robertson, a freshman guard at Baylor.
"You’re just in that moment with those kids. It’s like you’re on that floor with them, and you’re playing the game. That’s just a passion you have and an intensity you have," Mulkey said. "The sideline is my work, it’s my zone, where I’ve got to focus. And I’m not even aware of my surroundings except for those people on that bench with me."
The former point guard who led Louisiana Tech to a 130-6 record and two national titles is as close as she can get to the action without having the ball in her hands.
What might surprise people who only see the ranting coach is what Mulkey is like off the court.
"If you only saw the basketball side, you would think she’s this intense, probably mean lady that’s just always yelling," Robertson said. "But for the people close to her, they just see her as Kim. She’s a comedian and she loves to laugh and joke around. She’s just real laid-back."
Mulkey, a self-proclaimed cutup, is often the target of pranks by her players.
They have filled the kitchen area in her office with balloons and wrapped her house in toilet paper. Her clothes have been hidden in a freezer when she got in the sauna.
"They end up telling on themselves. ... They just start giggling and you can figure out real quick who’s the guilty party," Mulkey said. "There’s a time to be serious, there’s a time to play. And I want them to have a relationship with me that they’re comfortable off the floor and yet they have a respectful fear."
Brittney Griner, Baylor’s 6-foot-8 sophomore standout, has flipped Mulkey’s desk, putting everything on the opposite side of where the coach had it.
"Everything people see is so one-sided. They just see that intimidating side of coach," Jones said. "When we’re just hanging out or when we’re on trips and stuff she’s the one person you want to be around because she is funny."
Mulkey never planned on being a coach. After playing her last game, she was a graduate student at Louisiana Tech with plans to work in the business world and climb the corporate ladder.
But Barmore, who first saw her as a 10th-grader, pulled her out of a graduate class and asked about coaching. She spent 15 seasons as a Tech assistant before going to Baylor, where she has a 297-78 record.
Bob Knight and Dean Smith are the only other people to win national championships as a player and coach. A 2000 inductee into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, she is the only person to coach and play for a No. 1-ranked women’s team.
"After coaching Kim for four years, I certainly knew a lot about her. I knew that she was very intelligent, I knew that she was a very hard worker," Barmore said. "There’s no question that if she wanted to dedicate herself to being a coach, she was going to be a good one."
Landers in familiar territory but missing title
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Standing at the edge of the practice court, right below the signs validating all the success he's had at Georgia, Andy Landers appears downright chipper.
His white shirt is hanging loosely over a pair of khakis. His jet black hair is slicked back. He keeps flashing that disarming smile of his.
"Do I look frustrated?" Landers said, breaking into a hearty laugh.
No one would blame him if he was. No coach has won so many games — 773 at Georgia, 855 in all — without claiming at least one national championship.
"If I walk out of here tomorrow," Landers said, glancing toward the glass door, "I'm proud of what we've done. Now, do I wish we had already won it? Yeah."
Landers is back to try again, having guided the Lady Bulldogs (23-10) into the round of 16 for the 19th time in the last three decades, just four wins — four measly little wins — away from finally hoisting the only prize that's eluded him.
Georgia will face Texas A&M (29-5) in the semifinals of the Dallas Regional on Sunday.
"We would definitely like to be that team," said Jasmine James, who hit the game-winning shot in a disputed second-round victory over Florida State. "All you have to do is put yourself in that position, get in that (championship) game. At that point, anything could happen. It's definitely a goal to win a national championship for coach because he's never gotten one."
There's not much else Landers hasn't done — a sterling list of accomplishments that are documented on signs blanketing the walls of the practice facility, everything from round of 16 appearances (the second-most of any school) to national players of the year (there's been three of those) to All Americans (a dozen Georgia players have received that honor).
"We've been at the ultimate level for the most part for 32 years," Landers said, his voice revving up, a sure sign he's about to get on a roll. "Let me ramble for a minute. We've actually played in that game twice, the national championship game. It's not like it's been totally out of reach. Been there, done that. Now, we haven't won that game. But that's the only thing we haven't done, if you think about it."
Landers can remember the details of long-ago games as if they happened yesterday, and there's two that still haunt him, two that might've given him that title early on in his Georgia career.
In 1985, Georgia reached the title game and built a nine-point lead on Old Dominion. But stars Teresa Edwards and Katrina McClain fouled out, and the Lady Bulldogs faded down the stretch to lose 70-65.
The following year, Landers expected to finish the job with a team he still considers his best ever, led by Edwards in her senior season and McClain, who was a junior. Georgia opened the NCAAs at home with a 103-64 rout of Illinois, but lost to perennial nemesis Tennessee in the regional semifinals, 85-82, even with Edwards scoring 37 points.
"The best team we ever had didn't even reach the Final Four," Landers said, shaking his head, "then we get there in 1999. That team probably wouldn't rank in the top 10. It's funny how things work out."
That was the last time Georgia reached the Final Four, and not many expect the Lady Bulldogs to make it that far in a season dominated by Connecticut, Stanford, Baylor and Tennessee.
They've already been blown out twice by the Lady Vols: A 33-point rout in Knoxville late in the regular season, then a 24-point setback in the Southeastern Conference tournament, the last in a stretch of four losses in five games that left Georgia looking like anything but a contender heading into the NCAAs.
Landers is undaunted.
"I always felt this basketball team could make some noise. I always felt like we could be good, and for the most part we have been," he said. "We roll along and do pretty well until the last week of the season. I can't really tell you what happened there, other than we played a Tennessee team that was playing as well or better than it played all year long twice in a week."
The Lady Bulldogs cruised past Middle Tennessee in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, then overcame a 10-point deficit in the final 10 minutes against Florida State, winning on a putback by James with 2.9 seconds left after the Seminoles thought they heard a whistle.
Now, it's off to Dallas, where Georgia could be facing two teams playing in their home state. If the Lady Bulldogs knock off Texas A&M, Baylor might be waiting in the regional final.
If the Lady Bulldogs are to pull off a pair of surprises, they'll have to do it with defense. The team has struggled all year to score consistently, but Landers' teams always make it tough for the opponent to do the same.
"We probably established that 30 years ago," he said. "It just kind of bleeds over from team to team. That's just the way we play."
-- Paul Newberry
Stanford gets boost from reliable freshman Kokenis
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Toni Kokenis never generated much hype as Stanford's third-best incoming freshman last fall.
Chiney Ogwumike had the National Player of the Year pedigree and proven lineage as younger sister to Cardinal star Nnemkadi Ogwumike. Highly regarded Sara James had the All-American status and was considered the program's next point guard to succeed senior Pac-10 Player of the Year Jeanette Pohlen.
Lately, though, it has been Kokenis that coach Tara VanDerveer immediately turns to off the bench when Stanford needs a boost. She has given the Cardinal key minutes in the biggest of games — and that's been the case even after she sat out two weeks with a concussion.
Next up for top-seeded Stanford (31-2) in its quest for a fourth straight Final Four is a date with No. 5 North Carolina in the Spokane Regional semifinals Saturday night.
VanDerveer calls Kokenis her "sixth starter." The reliable Kokenis often plays more minutes than junior starter Lindy La Rocque. In the Cardinal's 86-59 first-round NCAA tournament victory over UC Davis last Saturday, Kokenis knocked down three of her team's season-best 13 3-pointers on the way to 11 points in 25 minutes. She also dished out three assists.
Before that, she scored a game-high and career-best 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting as Stanford rallied in the second half to beat UCLA 64-55 in the Pac-10 tournament title game March 12.
"I just wanted to be able to come in and help contribute to the team to help us be as successful as we could be," Kokenis said of her expectations as a freshman. "I would say definitely (I have benefited from) more practice and getting more reps and playing against pressure and taking advantage of the reps you get when you are out on the court."
Her comeback has been impressive to say the least.
Kokenis was sidelined after getting fouled in the head in the closing minutes of a 64-38 win over UCLA on Jan. 20. She returned at Arizona State on Feb. 3. Then, facing the Bruins again exactly a month after her injury in Los Angeles, Kokenis scored 13 points and made three steals in 37 minutes — her most playing time yet.
"Toni has played extremely well for us. Once she came back from when she was hit, she has really finished strong," VanDerveer said. "When you look at a lot of the top teams, it's really amazing the number of freshmen who are huge contributors. So many young players are coming into situations and playing so well."
Kokenis checked in at the 16:47 mark of the first half in a 75-49 second-round NCAA win against St. John's on Monday night, only to leave late in the half with a sprained left ankle. X-rays were negative and VanDerveer hopes to have Kokenis at full strength for Saturday's game in Spokane.
She has shown already that she is resilient and a student of the game. After the head injury, Kokenis spent more time watching video to ensure she didn't fall behind.
"Being out with my concussion was a bit of a bummer," she said. "And then coming back, I have great teammates and they really helped me feel more comfortable — so it's just feeling more comfortable in general with our offense and what I can do to contribute to our team and what I can bring off the bench."
There's a good chance Kokenis will be in the starting lineup next season after Stanford loses Pohlen and do-everything senior Kayla Pedersen.
The departing players feel like the program is in good hands with returners like Kokenis to complement star sisters Nnemkadi and Chiney Ogwumike inside.
"She definitely has stepped up," Pedersen said of Kokenis. "I don't think she lets any of that affect her, like any of the hype or anything. Toni just comes in and she is fearless. She doesn't really care about anything besides getting the job done and how she can help us. If that means stepping up big for us in a game, like she did at UCLA, then that is what it is. Or if it means making the pass to the post, that is what she does. I just think that selfless mentality is really making her stand out right now."
-- Janie McCauley
Lady Vols: Better 'D' needed after 'wakeup call'
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's second-round win over Marquette was a little too close for comfort, so the Lady Volunteers had a team meeting this week to discuss what needs to change to make a Final Four run.
"We just basically made a pact," senior guard Angie Bjorklund said. "I think the Marquette game was a wakeup call ... Bottom line, it comes down to heart and effort and pride. You've got to take pride in your defense."
Those are just the words Pat Summitt likes to hear. The coach says she'll only rely on the players who will defend and rebound when No. 1-seeded Tennessee faces fourth-seeded Ohio State in Saturday's regional semifinals in Dayton, Ohio.
"They took it upon themselves to get their focus where it needs to be. We have enough players where we don't have to rely on everybody. Those that go in and are not ready to play — they are not going to play," Summitt said.
This year's Lady Vols have put together one of the most efficient offenses the program has ever seen. They've averaged 47 percent shooting and 79.7 points for the entire season and 53.3 shooting and 88.4 points in five postseason games.
Summitt won't complain about good offense, but she's not particularly thrilled when it leads to a lesser effort on defensive or in rebounding. Those are the two things that lead to championships, says the coach who's won eight NCAA titles, and will help a team survive a bad shooting night.
Tennessee (33-2) got a bit of a reminder of that in the first half of the their 79-70 win against Marquette. The Golden Eagles were down by only four points at halftime and had shot 42.4 percent, hit five 3s and slipped by the taller, longer Lady Vols for some easy layups.
"We were just not getting after it," Summitt said. "We talked about that at our halftime with our defense and board play. There is no guarantee the ball is going to fall where you want it to."
Ohio State (24-9) hasn't had much trouble getting the ball to fall lately. The Buckeyes have shot 53 percent and averaged 74.8 points in five postseason games.
At the heart of their offense is 6-foot-4 center Jantel Lavender, the most imposing post player the Lady Vols will have faced in months. Lavender is averaging 22.9 points per game this season and is Ohio State's all-time leading scorer and the second top active scorer in the nation behind Connecticut's Maya Moore.
Lady Vol junior forward Glory Johnson thinks she and her fellow post players can handle Lavender. Tennessee runs six deep, with Johnson, Kelley Cain, Alyssia Brewer, Vicki Baugh, Alicia Manning and Shekinna Stricklen all able to defend the paint.
"They'll have a hard time with our rotation," Johnson said. "We've got to get in their faces and just be as aggressive as we can."
Summitt thinks the Lady Vols lost the aggressive edge against Marquette partly because of anxiety. Even though Tennessee was playing against the Golden Eagles on their home court, the crowd was louder than usual and the stakes higher than ever.
Tennessee is aiming for a trip to the Final Four in Indianapolis after back-to-back postseasons. The Lady Vols suffered their first and only NCAA first-round loss in 2009 to Ball State and lost last season in the round of 16 to Baylor as a No. 1 seed.
"You could say that we were just a little bit anxious," Johnson said. "We talked to each other about it, and it was really just making dumb mistakes and the little things that hurt us the most in the Marquette game, like not picking up the ball and not sprinting back and not knowing who your man is when you're matching up in transition."
-- Beth Rucker
Ohio State coach won't be wearing orange in NCAA
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State coach Jim Foster spent 11 years at Vanderbilt battling the women's basketball juggernaut just 160 or so miles away that is mighty Tennessee.
He gets to renew old acquaintances again on Saturday when his Buckeyes meet the Lady Vols and coach Pat Summitt in a regional semifinal game in Dayton, Ohio.
It doesn't sound as if he's missed bumping heads with his old nemesis.
Asked this week what his relationship with Tennessee and its legendary coach was during his tenure at Vandy, he hesitated a full 12 seconds before finally saying, "No love lost."
When a reporter wondered aloud if he had any of Tennessee's bright orange clothing in his closet, Foster joked, "I don't even eat orange M&Ms. They don't taste as good as the other ones."
It's clear that Foster didn't enjoy being in the shadow of the ubiquitous Lady Vols, who have played to packed houses and captured the nation's attention while also capturing eight national championships. Three of them — in 1996, 1997 and 1998 — came while Foster was building a solid but often overlooked program in the same state.
Foster, who is 740-286 for a .721 winning percentage in 33 seasons at Saint Joseph's, Vandy and Ohio State, refused to heap praise on the Lady Vols, although he did concede that Summitt had changed the landscape of the sport.
"She's done a great job of getting great players," he said. "Tennessee was sort of first to get serious about women's basketball in terms of their commitment and what they did. People have had to play catchup to that commitment."
Perhaps his Buckeyes (24-9) follow the lead of their coach in not being awed or intimidated by Tennessee.
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State's star center and a four-time Big Ten player of the year, was recruited by the Lady Vols. She visited the campus but said she didn't get the feeling of togetherness that she felt when she met the Buckeyes. So the Cleveland native stayed in her home state.
"Tennessee is a good team, but I think it's more Pat Summitt," she said. "That's the name that everybody kind of gets a little iffy about. I mean, she's had a great legacy there. Those players haven't been there 16 years or 18 years or all the years she's been there. They definitely have great players, but I don't think it's any different than playing any other good team we've played against."
The Lady Vols (33-2) are the No. 1 seed in the regional, with Ohio State No. 4. The winner of their showdown advances to a Monday game at the University of Dayton Arena against either second-seeded Notre Dame (28-7) or sixth-seeded Oklahoma (23-11), with a berth in the Final Four in Indianapolis resting on the outcome.
Foster looks at the regional as wide open.
"Only 16 teams are left playing, and they're all very good," he said. "Whatever opinion people have of who you're playing, when I look at this regional there's four pretty good offensive basketball teams and defense is probably going to determine who wins this regional."
None of Foster's eight previous Ohio State teams have gone beyond the regional semifinals. Like everyone else, he sees top-ranked and two-time defending champion Connecticut as the clear front-runner overall in the tournament. UConn is playing in the Philadelphia regional.
Foster listed the Lady Vols along with everyone else behind the Huskies.
"The Connecticut team as constructed right now has won a couple of national championships in a row and is the team to beat — and Tennessee is in the crowd with us," he said. "They're one of the other teams."
-- Rusty Miller
Gonzaga to play regional just miles from campus
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Walking along the banks of the Spokane River, it takes less than 30 minutes to walk from the Gonzaga campus to the 12,000-seat Spokane Arena.
The Bulldogs are expecting plenty of their fans to make that walk on Saturday night, creating a hometown advantage rarely seen in an NCAA tournament regional.
"Hopefully all these fans here will bring one more friend," Gonzaga forward Kayla Standish said.
No team in this year's NCAA women's basketball field was given as short a road to travel as Gonzaga. Once Gonzaga won the West Coast Conference tournament, the Bulldogs knew they would be hosting the first two rounds of the tournament. The real shock came when they were placed in the Spokane Regional, creating the possibility of four NCAA games without leaving home.
Suddenly, Gonzaga's goal became making the 1.6 mile walk through campus and over to the Spokane Arena. Goal accomplished. The 11th-seeded Bulldogs knocked off No. 6 Iowa 92-86 in the first round, then outlasted No. 3 seed UCLA 89-75 to advance to the regional semifinals.
The Bulldogs — and likely 10,000 of their friends — will face No. 7 seed Louisville on Saturday night after making the round of 16 for the second consecutive year. The victor will meet the winner of top-seeded Stanford and No. 5 seed North Carolina on Monday night for a trip to the Final Four.
"It still feels just as good as it did last year," Gonzaga's Katelan Redmon said. "You can't beat this. I mean, we are going to the Sweet 16. It's awesome. Just going down the road there to the arena, that's just going to be amazing."
Last year, Gonzaga needed a one-point upset of second-seeded Texas A&M to reach the regional semifinals then lost to Xavier 74-56 in Sacramento, Calif.
This year, the Bulldogs proved they belonged, outlasting Iowa in the first round when the Hawkeyes decided to try and run with the Bulldogs, the top scoring team in the country. Then, led by guard Courtney Vandersloot, Gonzaga solved UCLA's pressure defense and posted the most points allowed by the Bruins all season.
"I think our mindsets (are) a little bit different. I think going in we felt we can win these two games whereas last year maybe we surprised ourselves by doing it," Gonzaga coach Kelly Graves said. "I think if you ask them individually I think they will tell you we deserved to be here and even win more games."
Although Vandersloot has been the highest scorer in the tournament with 63 points and 24 assists in two games, Standish has been right behind her. The junior forward posted back-to-back 30-point games in the Bulldogs' first two NCAA tournament games. She hit 30 with more than 10 minutes left against UCLA before going scoreless down the stretch. So, Vandersloot took over, scoring 19 points in the final 10 minutes to send the Bulldogs on to the round of 16. Now, they're eyeing the Elite Eight.
Only once has a Gonzaga team — men's or women's — been within one game of the Final Four, when the men's team lost to Florida in the Elite Eight in 1999. But this group will get the chance to make history at home.
"It will just be an awesome opportunity," senior Janelle Bekkering said. "I can't imagine the fan base that we'll have."
-- Tim Booth
Other College Women's Basketball News
WNIT
Colorado beats Wyoming
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — There's another Colorado team making a run in the postseason.
Brittany Spears scored 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds as Colorado beat Wyoming 70-58 in the third round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament on Thursday night. Colorado (18-15) advances to play Southern Cal in the quarterfinals.
First-year Buffaloes coach Linda Lappe spoke proudly of how her team played on the road in front of a hostile crowd of 7,247 fans in UW's Arena-Auditorium.
"This is a tough place to play," Lappe said. "I told our team coming in that only tough teams can win in this place. You can see why, it got so loud in that second half. I thought our players stepped up and never let the lead go, and I think that was huge to kind of keep the momentum."
Spears, an All-Big 12 first team selection this season as a senior, scored 19 of her points in the first half to help Colorado to an 11-point halftime advantage. The Buffaloes would never relinquish the lead despite Wyoming closing to within 3 points in the second half.
"When you're first team Big 12 that speaks volumes of how talented you are," Wyoming coach Joe Legerski said. "And we knew we were going to have a tough matchup and how we had to play."
Sophomore guard Chucky Jeffery added 16 points and five assists, and freshman guard Brittany Wilson contributed 15 points for the Buffaloes, who shot 50 percent from the field (25-50).
Wyoming (24-9) was led by senior forward Hillary Carlson's 27 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Colorado gained a 39-28 lead at the half, but the Cowgirls closed to within 53-50 on a basket by Carlson at the 8:40 mark.
But Spears answered with a basket to start a 10-1 run that killed the rally, and the Buffaloes hit 7-of-8 free throws in the last 2 minutes to seal the win.
"We wasn't worried at all because we had the lead the whole game," Spears said. "We just knew we had to play defense, keep our hands up and stop fouling and stopping the clock."
Senior Aubrey Vandiver added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cowgirls, who shot 31.5 percent from the field (17-54), including 3-of-16 3-pointers.
"I know their athleticism bothered us a little bit, but we just rushed some shots," Vandiver said.
Lappe said her team focused on trying to limit Wyoming's long range shooting.
"Our goal coming in was to keep them to five 3s or less, and we did that with three," she said. "We're really good when we play with our hands high, and I thought we discouraged a lot of their passes, a lot of their 3-point attempts."
Legerski likewise knew the Cowgirls had to shoot the ball well.
"We knew going into the game that there was some mismatches that didn't work in our favor and you just try to hope that you have a great shooting night to overcome that, but we didn't tonight," he said.
-- Bob Moen
Virginia beats Boston College
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Ariana Moorer scored 15 points and Virginia kept Hall of Famer Debbie Ryan's career going Thursday night with a 53-48 victory over Boston College in the WNIT.
The Cavaliers (19-15), who lost 73-50 to the Eagles here last month, won their third straight since Ryan announced she would step down at the end of her 34th season at Virginia.
The Cavaliers used a 15-4 second-half run to open a 43-33 lead, then held on after the Eagles (20-13) closed to within 50-48 with 32 seconds to go. China Crosby hit two free throws with 26.9 seconds left and Ataira Franklin hit one with 9 seconds left to clinch it.
Carolyn Swords had 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Eagles.
Crosby and Franklin each scored nine for the Cavaliers, and Franklin had 10 rebounds,
Virginia will host Charlotte in the quarterfinals Saturday night.
Elsewhere
Young woman held for grand jury in MTSU stabbing
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — A judge has bound over to a grand jury the case of a young woman accused of stabbing a Middle Tennessee State University basketball player to death.
During a preliminary hearing Thursday, prosecutors showed a videotape of police interviews with 18-year-old Shanterrica Madden after police found her roommate, junior Tina Stewart, stabbed to death at their apartment March 2.
In the videotape, Madden first told police that she did not stab her roommate, but after continued questioning changed her statement and said she stabbed Stewart during a fight.
Both women's families were in the courtroom as well as other MTSU basketball players; many of them cried during the playing of the videotape.
Madden has been charged with first-degree murder but her attorney has said it was self-defense.
-- Kristin M. Hall
Joliet guard signs with MSU-Northern women's hoops
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — Montana State-Northern women's basketball coach Chris Mouat has announced the signing of Joliet guard Rachelle Bennett.
Bennett holds records at Joliet for single season scoring and steals and for career scoring, rebounds, steals and assists. She scored 1,371 points in her high school career. As a senior, she helped Joliet advance to the state Class C tournament for the second straight year.
Bennett is a three-time all-state selection in basketball and track and a two-time all-state player in volleyball.
Six Frontier players earn NAIA All-America honors
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Six Frontier Conference women's basketball players earned NAIA All-America honors. Lewis-Clark State junior forward Jasmine Stohr received second team honors in the awards announced Wednesday.
Alysha Green of Carroll College, Samm Schermele of Montana State-Northern and Taesha Higbee of Montana Tech earned honorable mention honors along with Michelle Pace and Nicole Yazzie of Westminster College.
