Greyhounds defeated in NCAA regionals
Junior guard Jessica Canary dribbles up court as she tries to score on Hillsdale University during the NCAA Tournament on March 13.
By JP Sinclair | Editorial Assistant
The Greyhound women’s basketball team (24-9) ended the season when the team fell 52-69 to No. 22 Michigan Tech University, in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regionals March 16.
“It was a tribute to our players’ commitment and to what our staff has done the last two years,” said head coach LeAnn Freeland. “Our players focused and got the job done.”
This game marked the team making program history by advancing all the way to the regional finals against MTU.
“When we started pre-season workouts, I knew that this team was going to be something special and I feel very blessed to have been a part of it,” said junior guard Jessica Canary.
The MTU Huskies used their three-point shot to garner and keep momentum throughout the game shooting 8-10 from beyond the arc in the first half alone, going into the second half with a 43-21 lead.
UIndy would fight back, however. Canary hit her first bucket of the game having been held scoreless in the first half. Despite continued efforts by the Greyhounds, they couldn’t overcome the MTU offense.
Sophomore forward Samantha Meissel finished with 16 points, and both she and Canary were named to the region’s All-Tournament team.
“I have to give a lot of that credit to my teammates,” Canary said. “If they weren’t setting screens and finding ways to get me the ball, I wouldn’t have been able to do the things I did.”
MTU had the other three players that were named to the All-Tournament team.
The ‘Hounds made it to the regional finals by defeating a team that had previously garnered victories against UIndy twice during the course of the season already, Quincy University (27-5).
Quincy had defeated UIndy once in the regular season and again in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
The regional game on March 14, that put the ‘Hounds into the championship, saw both teams locked in a back-to-back basket battle, but the Greyhounds did pull away and won 74-64. There were six lead changes and 10 ties in the second half.
Canary led the way for the Greyhounds by scoring a career-best 33 points, and broke the post-season record of points in a game, a day after Meissel did it against Hillsdale College on March 13.
Canary finished 10-13 from the floor, including 5-6 from beyond the arc.
“Hitting that last second shot and seeing my teammates’ reactions are two things I’ll remember for a long time,” Canary said.
The Greyhounds only lost one player with the end of the season, senior Isabelle Rhenwrick, who ends her career as a Greyhound with 700 total points.
“We are truly going to miss Bell on and off the court. She brought a lot of leadership and energy to our team,” Canary said.
Freeland now owns a 46-18 record in her two years at the helm. She also has seen the program extend and add three new players committed for next season.
“I think it was a great season to build our program around, having two freshman starting at the end of the year,” Freeland said. “It really makes the sky the limit.”
