After a seven-game winning streak that ultimately led the Aquinas College women’s basketball team to the national tournament, the team became an unstoppable force not to be reckoned with.

Through injuries and strong competition, the team learned to play through hardship.

Although the team was defeated on the court last week in Iowa in the national tournament, the women’s willpower and attitude was certainly not defeated.

Complimented by other coaches for their “class,” the women’s basketball team remained positive through out the season.

“Through the injuries and everything that happened this season, everyone filled in the roles and we learned to play with adversity,” said assistant coach Ray Fron.

Senior Alicia McCarthy, the lead scorer in the game that led the women to nationals, felt the team was really able to pull together and consistently stay strong.

“I think that there were a lot of ups and downs and a lot of injuries and we still stayed strong through the whole thing and set our goals where they needed to be,” said McCarthy.

Every game different players seemed to dominate the court — one night perimeter players stepped it up while other nights different leaders emerged.

The team was “unselfish on spreading the ball around,” said Fron. “We learned to play with each other and each other’s talents.”

During the first half of the regular season, different players learned to fill roles on the team when some of the key players had injuries.

When the team started the second half of conference, they had a renewed sense of determination — they felt like they could start playing with anybody.

At the beginning of the season the coaching staff all agreed that their goal was to get to the national tournament.

“We like to set our goals high and along the way reinforce them,” said Fron.

Even when the team had a loss, they wouldn’t let it get to them.

“There’s no regrets. We wanted to make sure we left everything on the floor that night,” said Fron in regards to any loss or struggle the team may have had with an opponent.

Fron believes the defining moment of the season was winning seven games in a row, which led up to the chance for the team to vie for the title of national champion.

One month before the national tournament game, the team began its winning streak with the win over Indiana Tech.

Over the course of the month leading up to nationals, the team was able to defeat six other teams, including three competitors in the WHAC.

According to McCarthy, the team had a determined attitude towards every goal they set.
“We knew we could go to nationals if we really put our minds to it,” said McCarthy.

The team competed against Benedictine in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa last Thursday.

Although both sides played strong both offensively and defensively, Benedictine came out on top, 79-57.

“Although we may not have won the national tournament game, it was still a really good experience being there,” said McCarthy.