As the end of the basketball season quickly approaches, the Spring Hill College Lady Badgers lead their division, while the men’s team is showing improvement.
The Lady Badgers have had an outstanding season and are now ranked first in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) West Division. The team has held an 11-game winning streak for the past four weeks. The women’s coach, Karen McConico, said, “I am so blessed to be able to coach such a great group of young ladies. They have worked hard, fought and most importantly, they have trusted the process.”
Coach McConico attributes the team’s success to the cooperation and support she has received from her assistant coach, Amy Calhoun, the players and even the team manager who films the games and washes the uniforms. McConico believes that every person is important and the team would not have succeeded without them. While every person contributed to the team, Coach McConico says that she would name Tiffany Valentine, a sophomore on the court, as the season MVP. “No one can stop her except herself. She is a great post player that is very skilled and passionate and wants to win about as much as I do!”
So what has changed? What have the Lady Badgers done differently that sets this season apart from the last? True sophomore Elise Reilly said, “We’ve overcome a lot and grown together and I think that’s what made us so good this year.” As far as tangible differences go, Reilly said that this season has been one of the best, “This year we have three people scoring more than 15 points per game. People aren’t able to stop us. Everyone knows their roles and that’s what is making us such a great team.”
The women have a record of 18-6 overall and 11-3 in the conference. The men’s team has done well in the latter half of the season, having just come off of a five-game winning streak. With only four games left in the season, the men are 9-15 overall and 6-9 in the conference.
The Lady Badgers’ final two games will be played at home. The men and women take on Lemoyne-Owen College on Monday (Feb. 19) and Laine College on Wednesday (Feb. 21). The men’s team also has a game at Miles College on Feb. 24.
