For the second time in program history, the North Central Missouri College women’s basketball team placed sixth at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
The Pirates were 2-2 in Port Huron, MI, finishing sixth to equal the 2006-2007 team’s finish at the national tournament 15 years ago.
This year’s team did something no other North Central team has done at a national tournament, however — win multiple games.
The 2007 finish saw North Central go 1-2 at what was then a 12-team national tournament. The Pirates kicked off this year’s tournament with a 75-50 win over Niagra County on Wednesday and they scored a 60-52 win over Muskegon on Friday to punch their ticket to the fifth-place game.
The two losses suffered by the Pirates included a quarterfinal loss to top-seeded Kirkwood by a 72-49 margin. Kirkwood wound up winning the tournament to claim the national title.
The Pirates were also defeated in the fifth-place game where they fell 72-56 to Johnson County, who was seeded second in the 16-team field, but was knocked off in the quarterfinals by seventh-seeded Morton, which ultimately finished runner-up, falling to Kirkwood in the national championship game, 49-44.
“We really took it one game at a time,” North Central head coach Jenni Croy said. “Our girls were determined to win that first one to prove we belonged in the eight seed or higher [range]. Facing Kirkwood we knew was going to be tough. After that we needed to regroup and win that third game versus Muskegon. That put us into the fifth-place game and achieved our goal of playing on the very last day we could possibly play. Playing four games in five days was tough, especially against the toughest teams in the country.”
Ford averaged 15.75 points per game at the national tournament. She was named to the all-tournament team, the latest honor for the Region 16 Player of the Year.
Ford had her biggest game in the Pirates’ opener, going for 26 points and six steals. Maci Moore added 13 points and 13 rebounds in the win and Kennadie Crowe had 13 points and 11 rebounds. North Central also got nine points, six assists and three blocks from Angel Wiggins and eight points from Jasmine Taylor in the win.
Against Kirkwood, Ford had 15 points and three steals and Moore had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Wiggins had 12 points to lead North Central against Muskegon while Moore tallied 11 points, 15 rebounds and four steals. Taylor finished with nine points and Ford went for seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
In their final game of the tournament, the Pirates got 15 points and seven rebounds from Ford in the loss to Johnson County. Moore followed with 14 points and eight rebounds and Toya Bethal chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and three assists. Wiggins scored seven points and had three assists.
The 2-2 showing gave the Pirates a final standing of 26-7 overall for the season.
Croy, who was an assistant coach for the 2006-2007 team, saw several similarities between her squad and the last team to place at a national tournament.
“This team and the 2007 team were both full of girls who loved the game, who played for each other and just had that grit needed to play at a high level,” Croy said. “They didn’t care who scored or who got the credit. Both teams were very unselfish and were excited to see the success of their teammates as well as their team.”
North Central’s roster should have a very similar look next season as Ford, Moore and Crowe are all expected to return for what would be a third season. Due to COVID shortening the 2020-2021 season, which wound up being a condensed sprint taking place entirely in 2021, the NJCAA did not take a year of eligibility from any player that season.
That gives the Pirates their three leading scorers coming back again next year.
“When I sent [Ford] the text letting her know [she made the all-tournament team] her response was ‘thank you, I’m ready to start working for next year.’ These girls will be determined to get back to the tournament. It was an awesome experience.”