2015 NCC Women's Basketball Recap

I really wish I didn't have to write this piece this soon. I wasn't ready for the ride to end. Unfortunately, "All good things...", et cetera, et cetera.

Just four days after the journey was given an extension, the Cardinals saw their season come to an end at the hands of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. I'll give this game a quick focus before moving on to the season as a whole: it's hard to win when you get outrebounded 59-32. To me, that, combined with having two of your best players fouling out with like five minutes to go, makes it all but impossible. They were right in it until the very end though, and for that, you have to give this team credit. There's nothing for anyone to hang their heads about. This was a great season.

You have to go back ten years to find the last winning record by this program. If you want to find a 20-win season, you have to go all the way back to that 1984 Final Four team. Both of these marks fell this season... and it's even better when you consider the expectations.

Before the season began, I popped into Merner Fieldhouse a couple times to say hello to head coach Michelle Roof. Each time I stopped in, she raved about this year's team and the additions that had been made. More than once, even in media appearances, she talked about this year's team being "special". The coaches' poll showed little respect for this team among its rivals however, picking them to finish sixth in the CCIW. I had optimistic but fairly tempered expectations, predicting a 15-10 finish. Even so, the team had the goal of making the conference tournament in Year Three of The System. Little did we know that November would launch the start of a season that was definitely special.

It began similarly enough to recent years with the Tipoff Tournament. The Cardinals needed a little time against their opening opponent, but comfortably took care of business against St. Mary's of Indiana. This set up a spectacular game against Millsaps College which I honestly don't remember a ton of anymore, other than it being a double overtime thriller that put a Cardinal newcomer on the map with her rim protection, while a record fell to enable the big hardware staying home. This was probably one of my favorite moments of the season.

Post by North Central College Athletics.

Everything just took off from there. After a blowout win in the Battle of Chicago Avenue, the Cardinals came back home and fell behind by 19 against a pretty good Wisconsin-Eau Claire team before everyone decided they'd had enough of those shenanigans and roared back to a 12 point victory. They went on a long road trip then, including a two game swing in California that, from the accounts I've heard, really brought the team together. Meanwhile, the winning continued even after they came back to the Midwest. Despite all of this, there was no national recognition, which prompted a rant that went beyond the usual 140 character limit of my rants. Finally, when CCIW play started, nemesis Illinois Wesleyan tried to slow the game way down... and couldn't get it done. It took that to finally give North Central its due on the national scene, and they celebrated by blowing out Millikin to improve to 13-0, the best start ever for the program.

This team even gave Wheaton a scare, playing them tight at King Arena before falling for the first time. Even that didn't slow them down, as the Cardinals followed the loss with five wins in a row, including victories over new big rival Elmhurst and an incredible shooting performance to beat Carthage. The much-anticipated Wheaton rematch didn't go anywhere near according to plan, but the team didn't let it faze them. They took care of business against Augustana, then finished the sweep of Illinois Wesleyan to lock up a CCIW Tournament berth. A two-game hiccup caused some concern, but they took care of business on Senior Night to lock up the 2 seed. Going into the CCIW Tournament, the Cardinals were in fantastic shape to make their first Dance since 1984. A win over Elmhurst set a collision course with Wheaton again, and both teams blew double digit leads before Wheaton took over late to steal the auto bid. Even so, the Cardinals did enough to make The Dance.

I have mixed thoughts about this team going forward. A majority of the team should be back for 2016, including some of the team's leading scorers. It's what this team loses that gives me some pause. An incredible group of seniors played their final game in red and white on Friday in Grand Rapids. The team will have to go on without leading scorer Tess Godhardt, who averaged 17.9 points per game in 28 games this year on 59.3 percent shooting (a school record for a single season), and found another gear in the tough games. She also led the team with 65 steals, tying the seventh-best mark ever for a single season. Maryssa Cladis was one of the more consistent scorers, averaging eight points a game on 24.1 percent three point shooting. Starting point guard Bobbi Johns was a great floor general this year, averaging 6.9 points per game on 40.9 percent shooting, but hit some key layups, was clutch at the free throw line (69.7% for the season), and mastered distribution, dishing out 115 assists (sixth-most in program history for a single season) while also adding 38 steals at the other end. These players find themselves mentioned prominently in the all time school records: Johns is third all time in assists and steals, Cladis moved into tenth all time in steals, eighth in assists, and is second in three pointers hit and attempted. Meanwhile, Godhardt only played 32 games with the Cardinals due to CCIW transfer rules, so her chances to set all time marks was diminished, though she finished with 1000 points between her time with Elmhurst and North Central, and she also has the third-best free throw percentage among qualifying players in program history (at least 150 attempts). That's a lot of production.

Fortunately, this team is built such that opponents can't focus on one single player. While Tess Godhardt was the only player who averaged double figures, there was a ton of balance; seven other players averaged at least six points a game, and three of them averaged at least eight. A good sign came from freshman Corrine Rowe (9.1 PPG, 33.6% FG, 30.2% 3PT, with similar numbers in CCIW play). She has good handles (I lost count of how many times she dribbled behind her back this year), though I worry she relies a little too much on dribbling. She's just a freshman though, and has time to refine her game. Freshman Mayson Whipple came on the scene as the season went along (6.9 PPG, 34.3% FG, 28% 3PT on the year, but 7.8 PPG in CCIW play). These two will probably take the torch from Johns and Cladis. Meanwhile, there are good pieces in place who will lead next year's squad. Kim Wilson had a down year scoring wise (4.0 PPG, 29.5% FG, 25% 3PT, but improved to 34.6% FG and 34.9% 3PT in CCIW play), but her defense (19 steals and good trapping ability) earned her a starting role almost all season. The fun name for next year will be Jamie Cuny. After transferring in this year, she thrived in The System (8.8 PPG, 40% FG, 34.8% 3PT, including 38.5% during CCIW play) while also pouring kerosene on the record book and setting it on fire: her 91 blocks this season broke both the single-season and all-time program records, and are near (if not in) the top ten for blocks per game nationally. She also broke the single game block record twice this season: she had eight in the Millsaps win to break it once, then broke it again with 10 in the win at Carroll College, part of the first ever triple double in school history.

I'll be interested to see how the leadership role gets filled, while I'm sure the on-court production will be filled somehow. This team got a taste of basketball at an elite level this season, and that experience will serve these players well next season. They know now how to handle success. While the graduating losses are big, this team has a bright future ahead of it.

In the meantime, we can look back on this season fondly. A 22-6 record is phenomenal, and the games they won (as well as the way they won some of them) made it a fun year. More importantly though, the team and how they came together this season is what really made it special. Many players called this team a "family", and from being around them, I will confirm that this isn't just a cliche. It truly applied to this squad, and I saw it so many times this season. I think that's the thing I'm going to miss the most. I choked up a bit reading through my Senior Night script, since it was the last game I'd get to see Tess, Bobbi and Maryssa play. I'm going to miss them. I hope they, like me, treasure the memories of this season, because it was an unforgettable run. I'm honored to have been a part of it.