Lewis & Clark women's basketball earns first trip to NCAA because of being 'stubborn in a good way'

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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