ISLANDERS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER NCAA TOURNAMENT ADVANCEMENT

Image: The Islanders Women’s Basketball Team begins their stretches for their morning practice routine at the Moody Sustainer Field House, with assistance from athletic trainers, both professional and student, on March 20, 2024.

Story and Photos by Sam Kunkle | Translation by Isabella Hernandez Betancur

Our Lady Islander Basketball team has done it again, absolutely conquering the Southland Conference through defeating Lamar University in a close 68-61 game. The Lady Islanders have been training their absolute hardest in order to succeed in getting this far, and now they’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations as our Women’s basketball team has now earned us a historical win by being officially invited to participate and compete in the NCAA and to have their games broadcast across the nation. Commenting on the tremendous victory, Head Coach Royce Chadwick said, “Well, the conference tournament is really the ultimate goal when you start in July, you want to be playing your best basketball in March, and I thought we did exactly that. I was very proud of our team, we locked in and we really elevated our game.” He complimented the playing skill of team member Alicia Westbrook as well as many others, further cementing the team’s effective teamwork capabilities and overall skill as champions.

“Well, every year you start out and you try to become a player-led team, it’s really difficult when you have really young players because they don’t really know what it takes to be a leader. We have a veteran basketball team and they were a player-led team. I thought that our seniors were doing a great job in the conference tournament, pulling our team together, and we only get a handful of timeouts so it’s really hard for the Coach to be in the middle of every huddle,” Coach Chadwick said.

These words also give light to how our Lady Islanders are a shining example of what good leadership looks like and how that can further influence newcomers to the legacy, since even when the coaches aren’t available, the Lady Islanders know that they have each other to rely on in times of need. According to Coach Chadwick, our whole Island should be proud of the team’s success and continued displays of progression.

“We set out with some goals, and we are achieving, marking the boxes as we go, and I think that they’re going to be successful in life because of the trials and tribulations that they have been first-class through during the course of their careers here. Once they get into a neighbor’s house that’s burning they’ll be rushing in to get the neighbor out because they’ve been through the fire,” said Coach Chadwick.

He gave a definitive explanation as to why these players deserve to be commemorated for their contributions to the Lady Islander legacy and for their undying tenacity together in the face of any and all opposition. From the perspectives of the players themselves, Torie Sevier, number 20 on the team, gave some insight as to what the experience being in the conference was like.

“I think it was crazy, because I didn’t even know it was the first time in history, so when it happened, I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ confetti, and an actual stage came on, and I just had never been in that kind of situation or a conference game to even see it happen. I guess it was just so surreal, cause we only played two games in the tournament, and then we were NCAA, so, yeah, I don’t know, it’s kind of crazy!” said Sevier.

Sevier’s response gives some insight as to the mixture of confidence and nervousness our team felt during the big showdown, which continues to highlight the team’s unyielding nature and unbreakable will to win, even in the face of fear. Islanders everywhere should wear this historical victory on their sleeves and know that their support for these athletes was, and still is, their fuel to push as far as they did, and will likely continue to push even further past their limits.

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