The latest NACA National Rankings were released yesterday and our 28-point loss to Bethlehem knocked us out of the #1 position. We dropped to #2. Although being ranked #2 in the Nation is still quite an accomplishment for Covenant to be proud of, it does not get us the first round bye that we REALLY want going into the National Tournament.

Freedom Life Academy from Montgomery, AL (currently #1) has a record of 14-2 with only three games left. If they win all three games, they’ll end their season at 17-2 compared to our record of 17-5 (after we wrap up the regular season against Maranatha). 17-2 vs. 17-5 …that’s pretty much a no-brainer for the NACA to rank.

However, we have the opportunity to finish in the Regional/Final Four tourneys at 21-5 and may get the nod over Freedom Life Academy if they end up dropping a game or two in their post-season tournament.

Let’s not waste the opportunity that still lies before us.

Nobody ever remembers who finished second…except the guy who finished second.

Towel Boy headed to the Final Four?

The seeding for the upcoming East Regional Tournament is pretty much set and there are few (if any) questions surrounding which team will likely blow through the pack to win the East. But there is some mystery as to who will end up accompanying Covenant to Bainbridge for the Final Four.

Now I do not think towel boy deserves much in the way of praise or even discussion, but he may be the only one that can mix things up a bit during the Regional tournament. I fully expect Emmanuel to whip up on Tallavana in the early game, but towel boy will have his work cut out for him in the afternoon match up with Grace. These two teams are pretty evenly matched. Grace defeated Emmanuel in Bainbridge by 10 points (with the hometown refs) and Emmanuel defeated Grace by 4 points in Dothan. So who will have the advantage on a neutral court?
Normally, I would say that Emmanuel has history on it’s side. Over the past few seasons, Emmanuel has entered the tourney and played well-above their seeding. But that was with Christine Spivey (graduated in 2007) and more importantly, that was without “towel boy.” Unless he inspires them with a really cool looking towel or maybe a new way to wave it, Emmanuel will likely be in a dogfight with Grace, until Grace pulls away in the 4th quarter and wins by 10-12 points.

I think Grace is the only team in this tournament with something to prove. They have a handful of girls that have grown up in the shadow of Sarah Flowers (graduated in 2007) and the pedestal she was put on at Grace. Much in the same way that Liz & Jess had to endure the non-stop comments about their upcoming season after Covenant’s dynamic-duo (Samantha & Summer) left. Expect Grace to respond the same way our girls did - with something to prove. In addition to being motivated, they have a new coach that is looking to show that he can win it all with a girls team and he has the coaching pedigree to do it. Keep in mind that his varsity boys teams have spent quite a few year’s perched on top of the Eastern throne and he’s looking to show that he can do it again, but this time with a girl’s team.

Prediction: Covenant & Grace headed to the Final Four. But keep your fingers crossed for towel boy. I’d love to hear his comments if he knows that he’s headed to the Final Four.

GREAT News!

As most of you already know by now, the Lady Lions firmly positioned themselves as the #1 seed in the upcoming Regional Tournament with a dominating 67-23 win over "Towel Boy & the Towelettes."

As good as that news is, I received even better news yesterday before the game. The National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) began a National Ranking of member schools this season and their first poll was just released. Where pray-tell are the Lady Lions in this poll? Why I'm glad you asked....we are ranked at #3 in the Nation (NACA Div IV) and ranked at #2 in their power ranking. The poll has our record listed as 11-4 and since we are currently 15-4, the next poll (due out on Jan 22) should show us moving closer toward that coveted #1 spot.

HOORA!

The Silence is Deafening

As we hit the half-way point on our conference schedule, we’re 6-0 and in 1st place in the PCC East Region. That’s’ a good thing. The down-side is that there’s not much drama to build around as we enter the final stretch leading into the Regional playoffs. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily want a lot of drama, but it sure makes for some great basketball.

Looking back on last season, the most memorable games were the ones with some type of drama attached.

Do you remember the Grace newspaper article where Grace said that PCCS was the best team in the conference because they beat Grace by 15 points? Then we showed Grace that maybe they should keep quiet after we beat them by 36 points (they only scored 37 for the whole game against PCCS).

Or how about the endless drama that always seemed to accompany the PCCS games? Most of the drama with PCCS started in our rotation game where a few of their girls were crying during the game due to fatigue & shin splints. Then Rachel was knocked out cold and they got a 20-minute rest period to catch their breath while the EMT techs loaded her into the ambulance. We made up a 10-point deficit in a minute and a half and ended up losing by 2 points as the clock ran out. To add insult to injury, the newspaper had the front page picture of Sharee towering over Rachel (on the floor). The revenge game was born on that night.

Or how about when Mr. Thompson started running his mouth before the Championship game saying that Covenant would need our best three defenders to triple team Sharee if we wanted to stop her. We put Liz on Sharee to start the game and Liz held her scoreless in the 1st quarter.

And how cool was it to play mind games with PCCS by “occupying” their locker room before the Championship game and then taunting them for 15 minutes from across the hall?

This season, it seems the only drama swirls around the bus breaking down or how horrible the referees are.

As cliché as it probably sounds… I miss the good ‘ol days.