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KEARNEY, Neb. - Five years ago to the very day at St. Joseph, Mo., it was the loud, raucous Jackrabbit Nation that helped give South Dakota State University a huge lift in the NCAA Division II national championship game against Northern Kentucky University. It was on March 29, 2003, that NKU dropped a 65-50 decision to South Dakota State in the NCAA Division II national championship game. Exactly five years later, the Norse again squared off against a team from the rugged North Central Region. This time, NKU met the University of South Dakota for the NCAA Division II national title on Saturday night. While South Dakota’s crowd provided the same boost its in-state rival received from the Jackrabbit Nation in 2003, the Coyotes’ enthusiastic fans could not help their team claim its first-ever national championship. Angela Healy and Cassie Brannen, among others for NKU, saw to that. And the Norse made sure the crowd of 3,067 - mostly red-clad South Dakota fans - and a national television audience watching on ESPN2 knew who was No. 1 in the nation when the final buzzer sounded. Healy scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, while Brannen netted 15 of her 18 points in the second half as NKU rallied for a 63-58 victory over South Dakota. Healy, a Highlands High School graduate, was named the tournament’s most outstanding player as the Norse snapped South Dakota’s 31-game winning streak and denied the Coyotes a national title in their final season of Division II competition. “We kept believing, even when we were down 12 points in the second half,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “Our entire defensive plan was to switch high, and not let them drive and pitch on us. We did a pretty good job of knowing who their 3-point shooters were and guarded them very well. We wanted to stay home on their shooters and not help, and we are long enough defensively to do that. “It worked, and we kept a very good South Dakota team from knocking down a lot of open 3-point shots. Most of them were defended, even if we did have a breakdown or two. We were very determined. Once we caught them, we knew it was a game.” South Dakota (33-2) built a 38-26 lead by opening the second half with a 12-3 run. NKU, however, countered with a 10-1 spurt to cut the Coyote advantage to 39-36 when Danyelle Echoles drained a 3-pointer. Echoles, who was taken out of the game briefly after being called for a charging foul in the second half, finished with 12 points and two assists. “I’m an emotional player, and the team feeds off that,” Echoles said. “Coach Winstel and I have an understanding about that, and when she put me back in the game, I hoped it would give the team a boost.”
South Dakota still held a nine-point lead (49-40) with 5:52 remaining, but NKU stormed back with a 14-3 run to take a 54-52 advantage with 2:08 left. Brannen keyed the spurt with nine points. Amber Hegge made one of two free throws with 1:12 left on the clock to bring South Dakota to within 54-53, but Healy responded with an inside basket to extend NKU’s lead to 56-53. Jeana Hoffman then missed a 3-pointer and Rachel Lantry made one of two free throws with 37 seconds remaining to give NKU a 57-53 lead. After another missed 3-point attempt by South Dakota, Jessie Slack buried a pair of free throws with 27 seconds left to make it 59-53. Echoles and Healy each made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, and NKU claimed its second national championship with a most improbable tournament run. “Winning the region was the goal we talked about the most, but our goal was also to not let it (the season) end,” Healy said. “I know Nicole (Chiodi), a co-captain and a senior, and I were always wanting to win the national championship. What senior doesn’t? It was in the back of our minds. Today was the end, but what a nice ending.” NKU, which was 19-for-23 from the free-throw line in the second half after shooting just 40 percent from the charity stripe in the first half, finished with a 28-8 record. The Norse defense forced South Dakota into 7-for-30 shooting from 3-point range and won the rebounding battle, 43-36. NKU also did not allow the loud South Dakota crowd affect its play. “We would rather play in front of a lot of people. It was a fun environment,” said Slack, who finished with 11 points and five assists. “I feed off the crowd, and it was a great experience to play in front of a crowd like this.” Chiodi closed out her career with eight rebounds, five assists and four points in 40 minutes. The Newport Central Catholic High School graduate set an NKU single-season record by playing 1,286 minutes in 2007-08. Healy finished her career with 1,262 points, which is 15th all-time in NKU history. The 6-foot-1 center was named honorable mention NCAA Division II All-American earlier in the week. “To be the only school in the state of Kentucky to win a national championship in a women’s sport, and now two of them, is pretty amazing,” said Winstel, who also guided the Norse to the 2000 national crown at Pine Bluff, Ark. “These young ladies will remember this for the rest of their lives. What a great group they are, and when you consider we didn’t even know if we would make the tournament three weeks ago, this is a remarkable accomplishment.” NKU closed the season by winning 10 of its last 11 games to capture the national championship. The only loss during that stretch was a 71-67 setback at Drury in the championship game of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at Springfield, Mo.
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