The Whitman women’s basketball team fell to the FDU-Florham Devils in the D-III national title game Saturday night 80-72, ending a record-breaking season for the Missionaries.
With an 85-70 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (26-4) Friday night, the Missionaries (30-1) advanced to the first national championship game in program history. Whitman will play for the Division III national title Saturday night against Farleigh Dickinson University, Florham.
The game is done, the nets are cut down and for the first time in program history the Whitman women’s basketball team has danced all the way to the Final Four.
Following a close loss to the Whitworth Pirates in the Northwest Conference Championship, there were doubts whether the previously undefeated, previously #1 nationally ranked Missionaries Women’s Basketball team was the real deal. If their Friday night performance in the first round of the NCAA D3 Playoffs against Chapman is any indication of their ability, any of those doubts should’ve been promptly silenced.
In the final Northwest Conference contest of the season, the Whitman vs. Whitworth rivalry saw another instant classic Saturday night. This time it was for the conference title, and the Pirates finally found a way to best the previously undefeated Whitman women’s basketball team, 68-65.
In Friday night’s game against the Pacific University Boxers, the Whitman women’s basketball team did what they’ve been doing all season long; shot consistently, defended aggressively, rebounded well, and won. With their 65-55 victory over the Boxers, the Missionaries move to 18-0 on the season and 9-0 in Northwest Conference play.
Coming off a strong season last year, the women's basketball team looks to improve behind the leadership and versatility of star senior Sarah Anderegg.
If early season results are any indication of what the rest of the season has in store, then the Whitman women’s basketball team should have high expectations.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association advertises the fact that most student athletes go pro in something other than sports. At Whitman, a small NCAA Division III school, the number of students whose athletic careers end with graduation is even higher. For three Whitman graduates last spring, however, that has not been the case.
This past Sunday the Whitman women's basketball team put on its first skills camp of the year. The camp provides an important outreach opportunity for the team, as they pass on their knowledge and skills to the basketball youth of Walla Walla.
For many Division III student-athletes, the four years of college represent the end of an era: the end of long road trips and the day-to-day grind of being a serious athlete. But what happens when injury strikes and takes one of those years away? How would you feel about the end?
