When Juli Fulks arrived on campus at Lewis & Clark to take over the
women's basketball program, men's basketball head coach Bob Gaillard
gave her some advice.
"Go watch the best teams," he said, "then go find players who are better than them."
Fulks was a fast learner.
In just six seasons, Fulks has taken a team that was 1-15 in conference
her first year -- 5-20 overall -- and turned them into a Northwest
Conference title contender: After finishing the regular season with a
share of the conference title, the Pioneers (21-6) received an at-large
bid to the NCAA tournament, their first since the NWC moved from NAIA to
Division-III in 1999.
"I thought we were in because of the numbers but when we found out, oh,
it was so cool," Fulks said. "This is what we've been working for all
year."
Lewis & Clark, which lost to George Fox in overtime of the NWC
championship game last weekend, will play tonight against Howard Payne
(21-7) of Brownwood, Texas. Lewis & Clark is one of four teams in
the sectional, and the winner of the Pioneers' game will play the winner
of Coe-Minnesota-Morris; Coe, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the
host school.
It is the first time in seven seasons that a NWC school has not hosted a
first and second-round sectional. George Fox, the 2009 national
champion will play Occidental in a first-round game today at Chapman
College in Orange, Calif. Should Lewis & Clark and GFU (22-5) both
win their sectionals, there is a chance once of them would host a Sweet
16 round.
"We obviously have a really good league," George Fox coach Michael Meek
said. "We had been talking right before the selection show about how it
would be a shame if both teams didn't get in."
By winning a share of the conference title, the Pioneers managed to
break into the top tier of a league typically dominated by George Fox
and the University of Puget Sound.
"I think probably two years ago we still weren't sure if we were
supposed to be at the top, but now we've beaten everybody and handled it
well," Fulks said. "Now they absolutely believe, every game, that they
can go in and win."
But that mentality wasn't built overnight. Fulks is fortunate that she
and her assistants were "really stubborn in a good way," believing that
Lewis & Clark could become a nationally-prominent program.
"There were a lot of early struggles, but Lewis & Clark is a different place now," Fulks said. "We're on an upward trend."
Part of that trend can be attributed to Kristina Williams, a 5-foot-9
sophomore guard for the Pioneers who was named the conference player of
the year after averaging 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per
game.
Williams said the team talked all preseason about how they had the
talent to make the tournament this year, and when she received a text
message during class that the Pioneers were in, it was the ultimate
adrenaline rush. And though Lewis & Clark is playing in an
unfamiliar gym in unfamiliar circumstances, Williams likes the Pioneers'
chances.
"We're really deep -- if someone's off, someone else will show up,"
Williams said. "We rebound well, and that's something we can always do.
I'm pretty exited, actually. I think it'll be fun for all of us, and
we're ready to play some different teams."
Notes: The Cascade Collegiate Conference will send three teams from
Oregon to the NAIA Division II men's basketball championship with Oregon
Tech (29-4), Eastern Oregon (25-6) and Warner Pacific (19-10) all
receiving bids. On the women's side, Concordia (24-9) will represent the
CCC. Games for the single-elimination tournament start on March 9.
Oregon Tech won the 2004 and 2008 national titles.
--Lindsay Schnell (all things hoops on Twitter)
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