The members of the SOU women's basketball team celebrate a winning season as the 2008 Cascade Confer
Photo courtesy of Pete Belcastro

A record-breaking 2007-08 season didn’t seem to catch the SOU women’s basketball team off guard. Sophomore forward Jacki Speer recalls from the very first team meeting that the women’s squad knew exactly what they wanted.

"We all had the same goal," Speer said. "We all wanted to go to Nationals."

The Raiders ended the 2007-08 season, capturing the Cascade Conference Championship title (29-5) for the first time since 2002. SOU also went undefeated (16-0) at McNeal Pavilion for the first time in school history, capping 11, nine and six-game winning streaks during the season, according to third year head coach Lynn Kennedy.

After a fifth place finish in the Cascade Conference last year (11-7), the Lady Raiders came back into 2008 as a force to be reckoned with. Qualifiers for the NAIA tournament, the Lady Raiders secured a matchup with St. Ambrose on March 12. A tough loss on opening day of the tournament could not dampen their spirits, however, from looking back on a season that made the SOU history books

"To win 29 [games] this year says a lot about the program and the players," Kennedy said, who was awarded the Cascade Conference Coach of the Year for the 2007-08 season.

"The thing about our team is that we’re young, and we’ve been to the National tournament," Kennedy said. "Our experience this year will help us next year."

The Raiders also made an impact off the court, with a team average GPA of 3.3 respectively. Senior and NAIA All-American (third team) Chelsea Muri was awarded the Daktronics-NAIA Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete award for academic achievement and athletic performance.

"We all got along really well," Muri said of the team. "It definitely helps on-court chemistry when you get along with your teammates off the court."

Sophomore forward Jacki Speer gives much credit for the team’s success to Kennedy for his dedication to the team.

"He’s dedicated heart and soul to the team," Speer said. "He’s insightful and knows a lot about the game. We just wanted to put it all out there for him because he puts it out there for us."

Although a young team with only two seniors, the Raiders did not see age or year as an issue. Speer commented that nothing mattered but playing the game.

"Our mentality was ‘your grade doesn’t matter, your age doesn’t matter," Speer said. "People kept telling us we were a young team, but we never thought of ourselves that way."

Sophomore guard Emily Brookins explained how a young team can keep them strong for seasons to come.

"We knew we were a young team, but we had confidence in everyone," Brookins said. "In the long run, we’re together for a longer time, and because we’re freshman and sophomores, we have to mature faster."

While SOU feels the loss of senior point guard Chelsea Muri and senior forward Erin Smith, the team looks to have an impressive 2008-09 season with 11 of 12 returning players. Young though they may be, don’t count the Raiders out for another go at a Cascade Conference title or even the national tournament.

"When we’re on the court, we’re on the court to play," Speer said. "We just need to repeat that next year."