Panthers Aim to Make National Inroads

Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2004
SPORTS 03B

By Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

In addition to worrying about packing the playing cards and enough fresh socks, road trips for college basketball teams can be taxing because of the long hours on a bus or airplane and the grief the players receive from fans.

So why have the Ohio Dominican women won 14 of 17 games on the road and neutral courts?

"I can't explain that, but we do love those road games,'' senior center Becky Richter of Ready said. "Most of the time we travel in a 15-passenger van, and there's nothing on our minds except the game. We have a good time (passing the time).''

The Panthers (21-8) won the American Mideast Conference and the automatic bid to the NAIA Division II national tournament by winning at Geneva in the semifinals and defeating 13th-ranked Shawnee State in the championship game in Beaver Falls, Pa.

ODU's van was parked in a garage on campus when the team flew to Sioux City, Iowa, yesterday for a first-round game against Sterling (Kan.) College (24-5) at 11:15 a.m. Thursday.

Coach Kate Cummings wouldn't be surprised if the Panthers play as if Sioux City were home.

"We just play better under adversity,'' she said. "I think on the road we have a time frame and a routine and we just think about basketball. It's a great honor to go to the nationals again, but we want to do something there. This is our third straight trip there. We understand the routine at the nationals. Now is the time to win and get to the next level.''

Ohio Dominican was 11-8 when it began a 10-game winning streak that included five wins on the road. Until then, it had been the most disappointing team in Cummings' tenure.

What happened?

"I think the one word that describes this team is heart, and we knew we were better than our record and wanted to prove it,'' said Richter, who leads the team in scoring (18.7), rebounding (7.8) and blocked shots (2.7). "Now, we want to show (the nation) who Ohio Dominican is.''

Cummings said the turnaround ironically began when the Panthers played 17th-ranked Taylor at Otterbein because Alumni Gym lost power. ODU won 100-60.

"Early in the season, the players kind of looked around and said, 'We're pretty good,' '' Cummings said. "Then we started losing and they said to each other, 'What's wrong?' We started playing at a high level. Now we're making plays we never thought of making in the past. We're not the same team.''

Nicole Stone, a junior from Worthington Christian, picked up the offense by moving from small forward to point guard.

"I played point guard in high school, but there's a lot more pressure at the point in college because of the quickness and banging,'' Stone said. "It took awhile for me to get used to the position again because I was rusty.

"We're playing really well now -- we're playing together -- and we want to go to the nationals and win some games.''

Reprinted with permission, The Columbus Dispatch, 2004.