*The author of this article is the coach of the team
SUNY Cortland women’s club basketball is only two wins away from a second consecutive NCBBA-W national tournament appearance.
During the regional championships this weekend, they’ll fight for the right to represent the North Atlantic Region. The squad will face either SUNY Oswego in the first round of a four-team single-elimination tournament. Win, and they’re onto the finals, where most would expect to face off with new-found rivals and conference champions, nationally ranked Penn State.
The Red Dragons were the only team to beat Penn State in conference play this season after a scintillating 53-45 victory that not only put the conference on notice but signaled to the rest of the country that Cortland’s team is a contender.
The squad was originally picked as a preseason favorite. The NCBBA-W official polls tagged Cortland #6 in the nation during the preseason poll. Unfortunately for them, that would be the last time the Red Dragons would enter the top 15 rankings. A rough beginning of the season made it hard to pick up steam.
The season began in November at the Penn State preseason tournament, where they lost their first meeting with the Nittany Lions, and preceded to go 1-2 throughout the weekend.
They began conference play by splitting games with last-place Ithaca College, winning the first 43-36 but then dropping the second 45-37.
The Red Dragons barely escaped their next set of games against Binghamton University, winning by less than five points each.
Next up was Cornell, and again, they finished the weekend 1-1. After a commanding 13-point victory in the first game, the Red Dragons battled back from a 14-point halftime deficit in the second and ultimately lost 69-67 on a buzzer-beating floater.
Six games down, a 4-2 record, and 4 games against the two best teams left.
Penn State was currently undefeated at the time and ranked within the top 10. One could see from the pre-game bravado of the Penn St. coaches that they believed Cortland would lose. They talked to the scorer’s table about how to make sure there was a running clock when a team is down 20 or more as if they were preparing for a set of blowouts. Cortland’s club sports program showed doubt at this point in the season. They were prepared to reserve gym the team’s gym time as space for intramural sports.
Doesn’t make sense to blame them, either.
Up to this point, the team had a habit of playing down to their competition, and the players themselves realized it.
“We went into games expecting to win,” said junior forward Jenna Kaufmann.
“When we know there is going to be a battle, the hype is there, and we’re all going to be really excited to play.”
And battle they did.
The Red Dragons played one of the season’s best games, winning the first game 53-45. The addition of guard/forward Abby Flynn into the starting lineup provided an immeasurable amount of scoring, playmaking, rebounding, and energy on both ends, setting the tone for the squad.
The rest of the lineup was familiar: senior/graduate guards Juliana Valenti and Jillian Cannistra controlled the game up top and added big-time shotmaking. Down low, grad student Rachel Tower and junior Morgan Wenzler dominated the glass, protected the rim, and brought reliable post-scoring.
Sadly, the Red Dragons ran out of gas and lost the second game by 10 after holding a first-half lead of 10. Regardless, the weekend proved they could compete with anyone in the conference and set up practically a win-or-go-home set of games against Syracuse.
The team was peaking at the right time. However, going to regionals required an undefeated weekend, something they’ve only done once this season, and against lower-level competition. Doing so would lock in the the second seed and jump past Syracuse in the standings.
The first game was arguably the best game of the season. An intense back and forth down to the wire. Wenzler was her usual dominant self, grabbing a ton of boards and scoring on the low block when needed.
The real standout of the game was Cannistra. She had undoubtedly the best performance of her campaign, nailing multiple trees, scoring in transition, and finding teammates in stride.
With the season on the line, the Red Dragons found themselves down three points with about a minute left. Playing the score quick-then-foul game, Syracuse missed multiple free throws down the stretch leading to a scramble and Cannistra nailing a three-to-tie with five seconds remaining.
“I didn’t wanna be done,” said the Bainbridge, NY native.
Cannistra’s shot sent the game to overtime, the Red Dragons winning 65-62.
Cannistra believed her confidence and her on-court synergy with her teammates, specifically Wenzler, was huge in the win.
“Everybody had each other’s back. Especially Morgan and I. We were playing really well together, even on defense, we really clicked”.
Wenzler took the mantle in the second game against ‘Cuse with her most dominant performance of the season. She was unstoppable on the glass and scored at will, either on the block or the free-throw line. The payoff? A blowout 58-43 win to send Cortland to the Regional Championships.
With Cortland’s 7-3 conference and 8-5 overall record, there are likely no more second chances coming this season. From here on out, it is win or you’re going packing. A bit of a scary thought. But the Red Dragons, they’re excited for the challenge.
“Knowing what’s at stake gives us an added motivation,” added Wenzler. “It makes me wanna work harder and get to where we were last year, to prove something to everyone.”
The squad has a week to prepare before the tournament this weekend.
If all goes well, they’ll end up hoisting the trophy and preparing to compete for a national championship in Erie, Pennsylvania, three weeks later.