Moving quickly, senior Lauren Crenshaw dribbles around her Southeastern Oklahoma defender on Jan. 16. Crenshaw contributed six points to the team's 11-point win. Matt Dobson Going for two points, junior Montana Lewis shoots over he hands of her Southeastern Oklahoma opponents on Jan. 16. The Lady Bisons won the game 70-59. Matt Dobson Freshman A'ndrea Haney prepares to pass the ball around the hands of a Southeastern Oklahoma player on Jan. 13. Haney had a career high of 12 points during the game. Matt Dobson BREAKING In 1997, the Lady Bisons made Harding basketball history by opening the season with an unprecedented 13 consecutive victories. That record stood for 17 years, until the 2013-14 Lady Bisons broke it by five games. The team went 18-0 before losing by one point in overtime at East Central University Jan. 25. Head coach Tim Kirby, coaching for his ninth season with the Lady Bisons, said this success was not due to any recent changes in practice or ability. Instead, they were reaping the benefits of many years of hard work and dedication. "Every season has its own personality and identity, and every team does too," Kirby said. "As far as what we do, we hardly change anything from year to year." Kirby explained that the biggest strength of the team was its ability to fill a roster with talented and experienced players. During five of his nine years coaching, the Lady Bisons had serious injuries affecting the team's success. In the 2011-12 season, the team lost five players to ACL injuries and other complications. This left the team with four freshmen and a sophomore as starters, an ALL THE RECORDS unusual starting lineup for a college team. "Freshmen usually don't get to have that kind of experience early on in their careers," Kirby said. "We threw them to the wolves that year." Senior forward Kristen Celsor attributed much of the team's success to the experience accumulated during that challenging year. "Sophomores and freshmen were the only people not hurt, and they're the ones left now," Celsor said. "I think all the experience we were thrown into at that point has helped us be more prepared now." Junior guard Montana Lewis agreed with Kirby, saying that the season was a continuation of the hard work built up over several years. She added that the previous years showed the team just how far they could go; in 2012 the team played for the Great American Conference Championship, but fell short of a victory. In 2013, the team made it to the GAC semifinals. "This year our edge is knowing how far we went and still didn't succeed," Lewis said. "We want to prove we are the team that we know we have been all along." With so many consecutive victories, the Lady Bisons received more public attention from the media and national polls. By the end of its regular season, the team had moved up to No. 2 in Division II on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll, the highest Harding had ever been ranked. With so much attention and pressure bearing down on the Lady Bisons, Kirby said it was important to keep priorities in order. "You have to keep it that way or you stub your toe somewhere," Kirby said. With a successful season behind it, the team looked forward to competing in the GAC tournament. However, regardless of their record, Celsor, Lewis and Kirby all agreed that the Lady Bisons were creating a season that was as enjoyable as it was successful. "As a senior, I've seen a lot of teams in the past, and I just think that this team has really bonded, and that we really click," Celsor said. "You don't always have that, and I think that's really contributed to our success. We work well on the court because we work so well off the court." JP Baker
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