Journey not over yet for KWC women
Mar. 8—Sometimes, the hard work does pay off.
Such is the case for the Kentucky Wesleyan College women's basketball team, which earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Tournament's Atlantic Region with an at-large bid, the NCAA announced Sunday night.
Wesleyan was given the highest seed of the four Great Midwest Athletic Conference teams — Tiffin earned the league's automatic bid, while Tiffin and Walsh earned at-large consideration — that will continue their campaigns into the postseason.
And it's well-deserved for the Panthers.
Being able to watch the Wesleyan women over the last few years has been nothing short of a joy. The Panthers play a fast-paced brand of basketball, with a deep bench and a team selflessness that is, quite frankly, unmatched at their level. If there is a "right way" to play basketball, it's certainly found on the Sportscenter floor throughout the winter.
But, it's not rare for a team to do all the right things and still come up short. That's part of sports.
Considering Wesleyan's overtime loss to Tiffin in the G-MAC tournament title game, and the fact that the Panthers weren't invited to last year's tournament despite a staggering 28-3 record, you never quite know what the selection committee is thinking until its decisions are made public. In fact, with the field limited to 48 participants this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, only the automatic bids were a guarantee.
Nevertheless, "making the tournament" was never at the top of Wesleyan's priority list. Co-head coaches Caleb and Nicole Nieman had their squad focused simply on the things they could control. Even late in the season, when it wasn't clear how much standing the G-MAC truly held in the eyes of the selection committee, the Panthers weren't worried about the destination — only the journey to get there.
"We're not going to worry about that, we're just going to work hard and stay together," said KWC senior Kaylee Clifford following a blowout win over Ohio Valley on Feb. 25. "If we get in, we get in. It's all in God's hands, and we're going to work hard to try to get in."
Instead of watching from home, though, the Panthers (18-5) will get the opportunity to go dancing.
Not only that, but Wesleyan will get a chance that not many sports teams receive — immediate redemption.
No doubt, Saturday's conference championship game still lingers in the minds of the Panthers. As close as it came, KWC couldn't overcome Tiffin in what turned out to be an overtime thriller in Cedarville, Ohio. And, as it turns out, the Dragons are exactly who the Panthers will face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The most important thing, though, is that the journey isn't over just yet.
"This has been fun season, it really has," Caleb Nieman said following his team's conference tournament semifinal victory. "The reason it's been so fun is because the seniors we have have been so consistent throughout their four years — the quality of teammates they are — that everybody wants to fight for them to get another game."
They'll get that wish.
Now that the sweating's over for KWC, the next step is clear: Wesleyan will travel to Columbus, Ohio, for the Atlantic Regional, where it will play Tiffin in the first round. A win gets the Panthers a meeting with second-seeded Glenville State in the semifinals. Those games will be played March 12-15, with each regional winner advancing to the Elite Eight March 23-26.
Much like its done all year, however, Wesleyan isn't looking down the road — only at the task at hand.
And we've all seen how far the Panthers can go with that mindset.
