LADY BISONS TAKE FINAL FOUR ROAD WITH TO SEMIFINALS LEAVES TEAM RECORD-BREAKING YEAR WORDS Cqyleigh Thomas I I PHOTOS Jeff Montgomery As a team, each new season meant another chance to be the best, another chance to play together and another chance to win. As the women's basketball team consistently succeeded, their goals and mentality in the 2016-17 season did not change. For the Lady Bisons, their biggest goal, according to head coach Tim Kirby, was to be a team first, making success all the more rewarding. "You just think about the next game," Kirby said. "There were games that no one would have been able to guess halfway through that we would make it out having won. It's hard to explain, but it didn't surprise me." Throughout the season, the Lady Bisons went on to achieve a 21-1 record in the Great American Conference (GAC) and played to the CAA Tournament semifinals of the Final Four. The team stuck it out, even achieving comeback victories from deficits as high as 20 points. According to senior guard Falan Miller, the Lady Bisons made it through because there was something special about their team. "We had great senior leadership and great coaches that worked extremely hard to properly prepare us for each game," Miller said. "We followed their plan and left every thing on the floor when we played." Senior forward Sydney Layrock agreed, explaining the team received support from fellow students and fans too, especially earlier in the season during the regional tournament in the Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The home court advantage the team received overwhelmed Layrock. "The games at Rhodes in the regional [tournament] were unforgettable," Layrock said. "We had so much support. We had students and cheerleaders coming back early from their ~pring break just for us. We could never have pulled through games without them being there and making it a great atmosphere to play in." The Lady Bisons won the regional championship and headed into the Elite Eight Tournament. The Elite Eight was held in Columbus, Ohio, and the team played Queens College from Queens, 1ew York, winning 73-69. Following a quick turnaround, the Lady Bi~ons made it as far as the semifinals, ultimately losing 90-77 to Ashland University. "J\1 the time, we knew that what we were doing was special," Kirby said. "We were just taking it one game at a time." Se0ior forwa1·d Sydney Layrock jumps for a layup to score for the Lady Bisons on March 22, 2017, in Columbus, Ohio, at Alumni Hall. Harding played in the Final Four, but t.,e Ashland Eagles defeated the Lady Bisons 90-77 in the semifinals. // Photo cour1es· • or Jeff Montgomery Sof)horrnre Emma Vaughn and senior Taylor Curran celebrate with the crowd as the Lady Bis( '1s 1J111n the game by blocking Emporia State University's shot on March 13, 20 1 7, in t'.le Rhodes-Reaves Field House. The Lady Bisons defeated Emporia State to continue; on to the Final Four.// Photo courtesy of Jeff Montgomery
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