Moran Lonning leads the Norse in points, assists, steals and rebounds. Luther athletics photo

By Rob Knox

Luther women’s basketball coach Amanda Bailey had her patience tested when she first took over the head coaching job in 2011.

Used to winning and competing at the highest level, Bailey wanted to skip the building process and move toward what the Norse experienced Wednesday: the euphoria of a winning regular season championship after the Norse defeated Coe, 74-60, to capture the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season crown.

“When I was hired, our head men’s basketball coach told me that everything takes time,” Bailey said. “I am not a patient person at all. It’s been hard. I’ve been fortunate in the kids that I’ve had. As a new head coach, I had a lot of learning to do and fortunately I had patient players. They were patient with me as we worked through things. I have a great group of seniors who been with me through some rough times. Now, this is a very special time for us.”

Fortunately for Bailey, she had a post-it note with the numbers “2015-16” scribbled on it that was on the side of her computer, which served as motivation to know that things would improve. That post-it kept her focused and reminded her of the goal. She looked at it every day and now one of the brightest young coaches in the profession is building something special at Luther, which is located in Decorah, Iowa, about 15 miles south of the Iowa-Minnesota border.

For Bailey, Wednesday’s regular season conference crown was the cumulative work of when she first took the job to lead Luther when she was tasked to return the program to its usual standard of excellence. It was only a matter of time that Bailey would experience success at Luther.

After all, the 2005 UW-Stevens Point graduate was a three-time D3hoops.com All-American, including a first-team selection her senior year (as Amanda Nechuta). Bailey also helped UWSP win the 2002 national title, so she understood what it takes to win at the highest level. Of course with 2005 being a decade old, some players weren’t aware of Bailey’s achievements especially if she didn’t post any “Throwback Thursday” pictures on social media.

“It wasn’t until my sophomore year here when I realized she was so successful in college,” senior Kiley Romeo said. “She doesn’t really boast about her career. You could tell that she was competitive and knew what it took to win.”

The Norse were picked to finish near the top of the conference at the start of the season so winning the regular season crown isn’t totally unexpected. Still sometimes, it’s tough to win when there are outside expectations especially after the way Luther ended last season.

The Norse beat St. Norbert before falling to St. Thomas in the Division III NCAA Tournament.

Luther entered this season with plenty of swagger. If they can close the season with a win at rival Wartburg on Saturday, the Norse will have consecutive 20-win seasons.

“When the (preseason) rankings came out, we almost ignored it,” senior Moran Lonning said. “Deep down, we worked even harder and we knew that teams were going to give us their best game, so we were prepared for that. There were some things that fell our way last year that enabled us to win the conference. We knew we had to work even harder than we did the year before.”

That work started in practice where players enthusiastically embrace the team’s theme of G.R.I.T. (Guts, Resilience, Intensity, and Toughness). That acronym is at the heart of everything Luther women’s basketball is about. Bailey has tough-minded (on the court) and fun-loving (off the court) players.

They look forward to going hard against each other. Of course, when you have 25 players on the roster, you can afford to have high-impact training sessions. The Norse enjoys lighting up the scoreboard with their balanced and talented roster. Winners of seven of their last eight games, the Norse average 71.2 points per game and have five players scoring at least eight points per game.

Luther also has nine players averaging double-digit minutes. In the win over Coe, Luther got scoring from 10 of its 12 players that saw action. Lonning and Anna Madrigal led Luther with 18 points each. Lonning also handed out seven assists.

For the season, Lonning leads the team in four statistical categories that includes scoring (306), rebounds (150), assists (99) and steals (65). Also averaging double figures for Luther is Romeo, who scores at a 12.1 point per game clip. Tayler Jenks (9.5 points per game) and Madrigal (9.3) have enjoyed bright moments this season for the Norse.

The games are actually easy for Luther especially since many practices feature Game 7-like intensity of the NBA Finals.

“We compete so hard in practice and it’s almost too competitive at times,” said Lonning, who was recently selected to CoSIDA’s Academic All-District team. “We just push each other and for us it’s always team first. Sometimes the practices get heated, but that’s how we get better by pushing each other.”

Fortunately for the Norse, those hard and intense practices don’t carry over off the court. Luther has enjoyed some of its best moments of the season making music videos, having long chats in the cafeteria and the numerous bus rides. The players are a close-knit group, which has helped with their success this season.

“We get excited about the little things and the big things,” Jenks said. “It’s just a blast to be out there. Coming into the season, we knew we were going to have a target on us. It was important for us to stick with what we do. We were confident coming into the season, but not arrogant about it.”

If Jenks’ dreams come true, the management major will be working for a professional sports team in the near future. The Illinois native loves the WNBA and her favorite players are Maya Moore and Elena Delle Donne. Meanwhile, Romeo has a job lined up after graduation with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, the 10th largest accountancy firm in the United States. Romeo will be working in Minneapolis.

Before they begin their futures in the real world, Luther still has plenty of unfinished business starting with trying to repeat as IIAC tournament champions and returning to the NCAA tournament.

“We just have to stay within ourselves and stick to what we do best,” Romeo said. “In addition, we have to make sure we have to stay together and play our game. We are excited about the playoffs.”

Winner-take-all showdown in Wisconsin

Alex Richard led a balanced UW-Oshkosh scoring attack with 13 points during a 60-57 victory over UW-Whitewater in a battle of nationally ranked women's basketball teams on Wednesday night. Ranked 14th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, UW-Oshkosh secured its fourth consecutive 20-win season. Oshkosh (20-4, 11-2 WIAC) also clinched a first-round bye in next week's WIAC tournament.

The Titans travel to 13th-ranked UW-River Falls (20-4, 11-2 WIAC) for the regular-season finale on Saturday, with the winner securing the outright league title and the top seed at the six-team league championship. The Falcons downed the Titans, 76-69, in the WIAC opener on Jan. 6 in Oshkosh.

UW-River Falls did its part to set up Saturday’s showdown as all five Falcon starters scored in double figures during its 82-66 win over UW-Stout. Junior forward Kate Theisen scored 13 of her 22 points in the second half to lead UWRF. Tayler Karge finished with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Brynn Liljander scored 12 points on the night and also snagged six rebounds, had four assists, and swiped five steals for the Falcons. Senior Richell Mehus had 12 points along with nine rebounds, five of them being offensive and also handed out four assists. Katie Messman knocked in three shots from beyond the arc, and finished with 11 points and had three steals.

In the first meeting, it was UWRF as it led the game at one point by 21 points in the second half. The last WIAC regular season conference title for the Falcons was in 1988-89 when the Falcons finished 14-2 under Dennis Bloom. Regardless of Saturday's result, coach Cindy Holbrook will have her highest finish in the WIAC as the Falcons coach. 

UWRF have won five consecutive games and are 10-1 at home. Oshkosh enters with a three-game winning streak and a 9-1 mark in road games. Should be lots of fun.

Lynchburg-Roanoke rewind

In case you missed it, Lynchburg and Roanoke lit up the scoreboard like the Griswolds’ Christmas light display. It was run, gun, fun and by the time the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard operator (not to mention the stats crew) needed a massage as Lynchburg outlasted Roanoke, 160-156 in double overtime.

Pretty surprising considering that both teams are among the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s best. They have a combined 37 wins and are ranked in the latest NCAA Division III South Region rankings. Definitely not the kind of game you expect between a pair of regionally ranked clubs.

Lynchburg, winners of six of its past seven games, broke the school and conference all-time mark for most points in a game, and the two teams' combined total of 316 surpassed the NCAA Division III top mark, set by Simpson (167) and Grinnell (148), in 1994. The old LC mark for single points in a game of 131 was set in 2008 against E&H.

Hornet senior Austen Arnold scored 41 points, his career-high, and the fourth-most in LC history in a single game.

Other records to fall in this amazing was most points scored by a losing team in NCAA history (156) as well as Lynchburg school marks for three-pointers (15) and made free throws (39).

Roanoke had a few school records fall as well. The two teams shot a combined 58.1% from the field going 101-of-174. RC made a school record 48 shots from the field on the night, including 17 from three-point land which tied a school record. RC's 71 first-half points is also a school record and five short of the ODAC record set by Emory & Henry in 2008.

The Maroons also set an ODAC record with 43 made free-throws. The 56 attempts from the charity stripe is fifth most all-time by RC and its 45 three-point attempts is a school record.  

Both teams only scored eight points each in the first overtime after scoring 131 through 40 minutes. They picked up the pace in the second overtime with Lynchburg outscoring Roanoke, 21-17. Cameron Smith (32 points) and Joey Miller (31) combined for 63 points for the Maroons. In all, 12 players combined reached double figures in this contest with eight of them scoring at least 20 points.

For Roanoke, it was the ninth time it has topped triple figures this season. Prior to its 156 outburst, the Maroons’ best scoring performance was 126 points against Penn State-New Kensington. They are averaging 98.1 points per game. 

Roanoke closes its regular season Saturday at Randolph-Macon and Lynchburg hosts Virginia Wesleyan.

Here’s hoping there’s a rematch next week in the ODAC tournament. If so, make sure the Salem Civic Center scoreboard operator gets plenty of rest. Both teams are currently second and third in the conference standings, which would put them on a collision for a semifinal showdown.

Wilmington’s awesome comeback

Down 10 points to Muskingum with 86 seconds remaining and a berth in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference tournament hanging in the balance, the Wilmington men's basketball team had a rally to remember to send the seniors out with a dramatic, 80-79, win in their last game at Fred Raizk Arena in Hermann Court. It was the Quakers’ brightest moment in a tough season.

Freshman Will Patrick pulled down a defensive rebound with 10 seconds remaining, took the ball coast to coast and found a streaking sophomore Nathan Scott for the eventual game-winning basket.

Wilmington (5-17 overall, 4-13 OAC) now holds a one-game lead for the eighth and final spot in the OAC into the regular-season finale 3 p.m. Saturday at Mount Union. The Muskies (6-18, 3-14) travels to No. 8 John Carroll Saturday needing a win and a WC loss to take the final spot.

“Hopefully this gets us in the tournament, assuming we keep fighting, and have to go try win on Saturday,” Wilmington coach K.C. Hunt said. “You never know, Muskingum wins and we lose Saturday, we are not in a great position. But from a standpoint of a win, it's great for a young team to overcome and make plays in winning time. I am just really proud of the guys.”

With the game, and the season, seemingly slipping away with 1:26 remaining, Hunt called a timeout to deliver a simple message.

“Defensively, we have to be super aggressive and look for steals, and offensively, make the right offensive play,” said Hunt. “There is no thing as a 10-point shot. Let's continue to share the ball, but get downhill and attack the rim. We were super aggressive and played with a ton of energy to get us back in it. I thought we executed really well, made shots when we needed to and we finished plays; just an all-around great comeback.”

Senior Zach McCorkle started the comeback with a layup, and following an offensive rebound by Scott, he found sophomore Christian Jones, who drilled a 3-pointer that trimmed the deficit in half. All it took was 25 seconds.

After Muskingum missed a pair of free throws, keeping the momentum with the home team. Wilmington continued to get defensive stops. Free throws from Scott and sophomore D.J. Iles pulled the Fightin' Quakers to within one with 16 seconds left. Once again, Muskingum missed a pair of free throws to leave the door open.

It was WC's first lead since 12:15 left in the first half. Wilmington pulled out the victory despite being minus-21 on the glass and minus-13 at the foul line. Jones led Wilmington with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block, while Iles added 17 points and three assists.

Your help

I am serving as the national columnist this season for D3hoops.com for a second season. To help with telling the best stories, delivering fun and insightful nuggets while providing teams the recognition they deserve, please add me to your email list for news releases and postgame releases at rob.knox@d3sports.com. Don’t worry about flooding my inbox. Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter @knoxrob1.

Around the Nation was writen by Rob Knox during the 2015-16 season. A former Division III Sports Information Director at Lincoln University, Rob Knox also worked at Coppin State, ESPN, Kutztown and at the Delaware County (Pa.) Daily Times. He was inducted into the Lincoln University Athletics Hall of Fame, named the CoSIDA Rising Star Award College Division winner and won three writing awards for various game stories including the 2007 D-III sectional triple-OT game between Guilford and Lincoln. In the past, he has also written articles for SLAM magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan, a graduate of Lincoln and is from Chester, Pa.