GLENVILLE – Glenville's Lady Pioneers are the National Champions!!
Let that sink in.
Coach Kim Stephens, the National Coach of the Year, led her team to the top of the college basketball mountain Friday night, as the Lady Pioneers pulled away down the stretch to defeat a strong Western Washington squad 85-72 in the National Championship game. They closed out their amazing 35-1 campaign on the big stage, winning the title before a national television audience on the CBS Sports Network.
Western Washington led for most of the first half, growing their lead to as large as seven points at 42-35 with two minutes left before halftime. Glenville rallied, cutting the margin to 46-44 at the break. Going into the locker room, the Lady Pioneers were fortunate to be down by only two points, as WWU shot 63% in the first half, while GSU shot only 35%.
The tables turned in the third quarter, as the Glenville defense stiffened, and they began to make shots on the offensive end. Stars Re'Shawna Stone and Zakiyah Winfield began assert themselves at a high level, with Stone ending the night with 25 points and Winfield 23.
Glenville led 67-62 going into the fourth quarter, and held the Vikings to only ten points in the final frame. After Stone and Winfield, several players contributed key points; Dazha Congleton nine, Vendela Danielsson eight, Abby Stoller seven, and Mashayla Cecil seven. Congleton posted a team-high nine rebounds, with Taychaun Hubbard collecting seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.
Brooke Walling led the Viking attack with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Emma Duff added 15 points, and Katrina Gimmaka 12.
WWU won the team rebounding battle 41-34, and ended the night shooting 55.4% (31-of-56). Glenville closed the night at 42.3% (33-of-78). Glenville's defense was again key, forcing WWU into 21 turnovers, while the Lady Pioneers only turned it over five times.
"This was a very good team, and we had to work very hard for everything tonight," Coach Stephens said. "But our team responded to the challenge time and again this season, and tonight they did it one last time."
"I told Coach last summer that we were going to win a national championship," Winfield said in amazement". Here we are tonight…and it actually happened."
Birmingham's Bill Harris Arena was rocking with a large throng of blue-clad Pioneer fans. Many who had made the nine-hour trip on Friday. For the Lady Pioneer program, so rich in tradition, this was indeed a crowning moment. As the confetti poured onto the floor, the coaches, players, and fans basked in the glory of the moment.
And for the National Coach of the Year and her team, an exclamation point on a special season.
Stephens now has a staggering 158-21 career record…and a National Championship!
