ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - By halftime of Saturday’s NCAA Division II national championship game, the Jackrabbit Nation could sense it. And for good reason.
South Dakota State University held a 32-17 lead over Northern Kentucky University at the break, and the Jackrabbits did that despite shooting just 34.5 percent from the field. A raucous, pro-SDSU crowd of 2,556 - featuring the famed Jackrabbit Nation, SDSU’s enthusiastic fans who had made the trip from Brookings, S.D. - could sense their first national championship was just 20 minutes away.
The Jackrabbits did not disappoint their large following, as they captured the NCAA Division II national championship with a 65-50 win over NKU. SDSU, the preseason pick by many to win the 2003 national title, finished the season with a 32-3 record.
NKU, meanwhile, closed the season with a 26-8 record after its improbable run to the national title contest. The Norse entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed in the Great Lakes Regional, and few expected NKU to earn its fourth trip to the Elite Eight in the past five years.
“I’ll always remember this team, and how well they played during the NCAA Tournament,” NKU head coach Nancy Winstel said. “After the way we played at our conference tournament, no one gave us a chance. These players kept working at it, though, and they deserve a lot of credit.
“Our shots just did not go in today, and a lot of them were good looks.”
NKU actually sliced the SDSU lead to nine points twice in the second half, the last time on a three-pointer by Bridget Flanagan with 12:37 remaining. The Norse, however, converted just 6 of 15 free throws in the second half and watched SDSU eventually build a 17-point lead in the final minutes.
Melissa Pater led SDSU with 22 points and 11 rebounds to earn most outstanding player honors for the Elite Eight. Pater tallied 12 points before halftime, and SDSU led the entire game.
Sharell Snardon - who was named to the Elite Eight’s All-Tournament Team - and Connie Myers each scored 12 points to lead NKU. Amy Mobley added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Norse.
Snardon said the crowd was loud, but it did not affect her team’s performance.
“It was loud, but that’s what you like to see, and I feed off something like that,” she said. “It was a great atmosphere, but it was not the biggest crowd I have ever played in front of. This was the biggest game, though.”
SDSU won the rebounding battle by a 47-35 margin and forced NKU into 21 turnovers. The Norse committed 16 of those miscues in the first half.
“South Dakota State really gets after you defensively, and they are a fine basketball team and deserving champion,” Winstel said. “Every time we made a run, they would hit a big shot or get a loose ball, and they are really tough.”
Mobley, Flanagan and Kristin Polosky, the final three remaining players from NKU’s 2000 national championship team, closed out their careers Saturday. Polosky, a senior from Bobtown, Pa., said she hopes her career is remembered and measured by the success of the team.
“Our legacy, I think, is as a team we were winners, even though individually we might not have the really big stats,” Polosky said. “I hope they will remember us as a winning team that brought recognition to NKU.”
Sharell Snardon