MCC women, men leave mark in ’05
Benjamin Buettner
Mesa Legend
Lady T-Birds finish No. 5 overall in Division II play
The Lady Thunderbirds cut down the nets from the Division II ACCAC Women’s Regional Tournament hosted at MCC March 10. The T-Birds, though, were far from done leaving tread marks through the Women’s Division II NJCAA Playoffs on their way to finishing fifth in the national tournament.
MCC started off the NJCAA National Tournament with a win over South Suburban CC of Chicago 85-77. The Lady T-Birds then advanced to play Illinois Central College, who dropped down to Division II play this season, but match-up problems plagued the T-Birds. “I don’t know if their 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-8 freshman twin sisters made us change our game,” said head coach Robin Schamber , “but I do know we made 6-32 field goals in the first half for an 18 percent then turned around to shoot 10-38 in the second half.
The T-Birds fell 77-45 and were left with an opportunity to finish no better than fifth in the National tournament by way of the losers bracket.
MCC stepped up to the challenge behind freshman Jamie Nesbit, who scored 62 points in the four games in the NJCAA National Tournament, and Brandi Steinke, awarded NJCAA Division II Women’s All-Tournament honors, and beat Mott CC 78-68.
Mesa then moved on to face Kellog College of Battle Creek, Mich, for the fifth spot in the tournament. “Ashley Prince had the game of her life,” said Schamber. The senior Prince almost hit a triple double scoring 20 points, 9 assists, 9 rebounds, while hitting 10-14 field goals. Prince led the T-Birds to a 100-72 victory, which every player had a hand in.
“Everyone played, everyone contributed, and five players had double figures,” said Schamber. “They know it was their final game, they should have been exhausted (after playing 4 games in 4 days), but they played loose and had fun.”
Sophomore Kayli Kauzlarich explained how the ladies applied the pressure relentlessly and never let up. “Everyone gave it all they had because we wanted to end the season with a win. Even after we pulled away and we knew that Kellog would not be able to come back, the intensity was just as high as when the game started. We accomplished something big and got to experience something that not many teams do. I don’t think anyone will forget it.”
Prince described the season as “One of a kind; every team has rollercoaster rides, but our struggles helped us peak late in the season.”
T-Birds grab playoff win with half-court jump shot
Tied 87-87 in the closing seconds of the ACCAC Division I semifinal against Cochise CC in Yuma, shooting guard Arturo Donzella nailed a half-court jump shot as time expired for the victory. MCC advanced to the ACCAC Division I final against Arizona Western fresh off the last-second thriller.
Mesa Assistant Coach John Mulhern described the feeling as Donzella’s shot banked of the glass from mid-court for the win: “When the ball was in the air I was thinking about preparing the team for overtime. As the ball banked in, I ran on to the floor, jumped in the air and pumped my fist looking for Arturo, while the team piled on top of him. Coach (Alton) Lister and I found one another on the court and gave each other a high-five while laughing at the irony of losing a six point lead with one minute left. I felt happy for Arturo because he deserved a shot like that because he missed a last second shot earlier in the season but just kept working hard. And of course I was happy that we made it to the finals.”
The Thunderbirds won 21 games in 2005 improving from 20 wins in 2004, while also stepping up from a loss in the semifinals in 2004 to the ACCAC Regional Division I Final in 2005 where they lost 73-53.
Head Coach Alton Lister looked back on the struggles of the season: “We went through a lot of players; its kind of hard to develop chemistry with so many players in and out, but our core guys remained intact and we wound up winning (as a result during the season). We stumbled against Arizona Western earlier in the year at home in a game that slipped away, and Cochise came here and beat us pretty bad. Those were the only two games (I was disappointed with).”
“The way we played against Cochise in the playoffs, I felt a kind of vindication from that win. The kids stepped up because of the character that was developed throughout the year,” Lister explained.
The Thunderbirds had their successful 21 win season without a center or a true point guard. Coach Lister had to form a style of play to the talent that he had at his disposal. “We had guys that were that were versatile and we were able to adapt a style of play for the players we had,” Lister said.
Lister, of course, was speaking of playing 6-feet-4-inch first team All-Region Division I performer Quinn Barfield, at center as well as placing second team All-Region forward Nate Perry, out of position to run the offense, as a point guard would, at times.
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