tvcc special section

One team makes NJCAAhistory, while anotherteam makes it to the

NJCAA Elite 8

Leaving a Legacy

at theValley

Saturday, March 29, 2014 1B

LADY CARDINALS

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2013-14 Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals2013-14 Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals2B Saturday, March 29, 2014

AutummnWilliams

DeborahMeeks

DominiqueBrooks

JazmineSpears

KyhontaDoughty

LeeLeeGrant

RoddrickaPatton

Shlonte’Allen

SylviaSmith-Gatson

AdutBulgak

CocoBaker

JulianneAnchling

JOE ELERSON/ATHENS REVIEW

Trinity Valley sophomore Shlonte’ Allen signs autographs for some fans followingher school record 52-point performance during a game earlier this season. Allenhas been a member of the last two national championship teams.


TVCC sophomore Coco Baker directs the offense during the Blinn game earlierthis season at Cardinal Gym. The Lady Cardinals swept Blinn this season with a105-70 win in January and a 89-66 win later in January.


Trinity Valley freshman Autummn Williams attempts to get past a Paris defenderin a game during the regular season. Williams played a strong role for the LadyCardinals in the starting lineup this season.

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2013-14 (1st Place Finish)W – Western Nebraska (77-48)W – Northwest Florida State

(94-63)W – Central Arizona (82-63)W – Hutchinson (65-46)

2012-13 (1st Place Finish)W – Weatherford (75-70)W – Blinn (90-69)W – Gulf Coast (75-71)W – Central Arizona (83-71)

2011-12 (1st Place Finish)W – Malcolm X (88-51)W – Shelton (66-59)W – Pensacola (71-66)W – Hutchinson (69-55)

2010-11 (2nd Place Finish)W – John A. Logan (84-55)W – Grayson (79-72)W – Northern Oklahoma-Enid

(86-73)

L – North Idaho (90-81)

2009-10 (6th Place Finish)W – Walters State (70-53)L – Jefferson (75-61)W – Central Arizona (77-67)L – Monroe (65-56)

2008-09 (7th Place Finish)L – North Idaho (63-53)W – Highland (80-55)W – East Mississippi (64-60)W – Vincennes (79-68)

2007-08L – Midland (74-46)W – Georgia Perimeter (68-64)L – Shelton State (81-60)

2005-06 (6th Place Finish)W – Northeast Mississippi

(122-64)L – Chipola (85-80W – Colby (76-66)

L – Southeastern Illinois (62-59)

2003-04 (1st Place Finish)W – Gadsden State (90-58)W – Western Nebraska (83-56)W – Central Arizona (85-61)W – Gulf Coast (77-66)

2001-02 (7th Place Finish)L – Chattanooga State (70-61)W – Copiah-Lincoln (80-67)W – Ricks (74-64)W – Vincennes (77-75)

1998-99 (1st Place Finish)W – Walters State (97-46)W – Louisburg (68-53)W – Midland (89-64)W – Central Arizona (77-53)

1997-98 (2nd Place Finish)W – Westark (61-57)W – Wallace State (86-55)

W – Howard (79-67)L – Central Arizona (73-63)

1996-97 (1st Place Finish)W – UND-Lake Region (99-58)W – Louisburg (78-71)W – Central Arizona (82-64)W – Central Florida (79-69)

1995-96 (1st Place Finish)W – North Dakota State (94-42)W – Northwest Mississippi

(88-57)W – Casper (85-77)W – Independence (69-55)

1994-95 (2nd Place Finish)W – Northwest Shoals (109-73)W – Independence (83-68)W – Okaloosa-Walton (104-77)L – Westark (87-75)

1993-94 (1st Place Finish)

W – Faulkner State (108-49)W – Moberly Area (101-89)W – Sullivan (100-77)W – Westark (104-95)

1981-82 (7th Place Finish)L – Moberly Area (82-73)W – Connors State (67-58)W – Central Wyoming (97-78)W – Central Arizona (89-78)

1980-81L – Louisburg (70-51)W – UND-Williston (70-68)L – Amarillo (66-50)

1979-80 W – Crowder (64-62)L – Truett-McConnell (72-63)L – Illinois Central (74-62)National Tournament Record: 57-16

Lady Cards at the TournamentGame-By-Game results since 1979-80 season

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4B Saturday, March 29, 2014

The No. 1-team in the nationin the Trinity ValleyCommunity College Lady

Cardinals have lived up to themotto set by head coach ElenaLovato this season.

That motto was “Leave ALegacy.”

For the first time in the historyof NJCAA, Division I women’sbasketball, the Lady Cardinalswon their third straight NationalJunior College AthleticAssociation national title.

This was also the school’seighth national title in 11 appear-ances.

The Lady Cardinals won the ti-tle in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004,2012 and 2013.

Another amazing number toknow is that Trinity Valley hasplayed in the national title gamefour straight years. They havealso been to the national tourna-ment 19 years and are 11-0 in thenational tournament semifinalcontest.

The third national title cameagainst a team that could be con-sidered a home town team in the

Hutchinson Blue Dragons.TVCC showed their domi-

nance in the second half of their65-46 win by putting together anaggressive defense and wearingout the Blue Dragons.

It was amazing to see how theteam came together followingtheir first loss against Chipola ear-ly on in the Women’s NationalInvitational Tournament inNovember.

The Lady Cardinals found away to rattle off 29 straight wins.They have also put together astreak that is unimaginable incollege basketball or in any sport.

The Lady Cardinals have won108-of-110 games (108 of 109 gameson the court), as the currentgroup of sophomores finishedtheir career with a record of 72-2(72-1 on the court in two years).

It would be hard to find a teamthat has gone 108-2 in three sea-son in any professional sport likethe young ladies have at theValley.

Another impressive streak forone Lady Cardinal point guard,Roddricka Patton, is the fact that

this was her fifth straight title.She won three titles as a mem-

ber of the Neches Tiger’s basket-ball program from 2010-2012. Shewas also a member of last year’steam that defeated the CentralArizona Vaqueras at theBicentennial Center in Salina.

It will be tough for fans of LadyCardinals basketball to say good-bye to such a talented group ofsophomores in Adut Bulgak,Patton, Shlonte’ Allen, JulianneAnchling, Coco Baker, DeborahMeeks, Dominique Brooks andKyhonta Doughty.

Personally, as a sports fan andan alumni of the Valley, I mustsay it has been a privilege towatch the eight sophomores thatwill be leaving this summer.

I know I will miss seeing theplay of Patton, Allen and Bulgakthe most because they foundways to make fans have a WOWmoment every time they steppedon the court.

These ladies have shown whatit means to play as a team and toshow how with team work andfollowing your coach, you will besuccessful in life.

The excitement and passionthat these ladies brought to thecourt this season was one thatwould even get the fans fired upduring a game.

When you would see them fly-ing across the court to get a looseball or showing how excited theywere about making a basket wasinfectuous.

Everyone around Athens has alove for Lovato and the coachingstaff at the Valley.

It is no doubt that Lovato andassistant coaches Gerald Ewingand Spencer Robertson will find anew lineup that will be able tocontend with the best talent thatanyone can compete against inRegion XIV.

You can see how much thefans love the team when theytravel all the way to Salina, Kan.to represent the school and sup-port the team and cheerleadersin attendance.

It will be interesting to seewhat type of team hits the floor asLovato, Ewing and Robertson be-gin the search during the recruit-ing process.

I bet when players hear the re-sume of TVCC with threestraight national titles, only twolosses in three seasons and play-ers that have made it to big nameschools, it will be hard to pass upan invitation to the Valley.

Will we be able to see the LadyCardinals compete for a ninth na-tional title and a fourth straighttitle when the season resumes inOctober?

Only time will tell on that sce-nario, but I bet some fans areplanning to be back in Salina forone more year in 2015.

Joe Elerson is the sports writerfor the Athens Review. He can bereached at [email protected].

Lady Cardinals live up to their motto this season

JosephElerson

COURTESY OF TVCC PUBLIC INFORMATION

The Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinals celebrate with the championship bracket following a 65-46 win over the Hutchinson Blue Dragons at the Bicen-tennial Center in Salina, Kan. The 19-point win was the closest margin of victory the Lady Cardinals dealt with during the tournament.

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s C a r d i n a l s a n d C a r d i n a l s a n d

L a d y C a r d i n a l s L a d y C a r d i n a l s o n y o u r o n y o u r

W i n n i n g S e a s o nW i n n i n g S e a s o n


PROVINGthey belong in

KANSASTVCC Lady Cardinals dominate inSalina, Kan. and celebrate a title

Trinity Valley sophomore Roddricka Patton won her fifthstraight title in the 65-46 win over the Hutchinson Blue Drag-ons. Patton won three titles as member of the Neches Tigersbasketball team from 2010-2012.

TVCC’s Coco Baker (22) and Autummn Williams (32) attempt to trap Central ArizonaVaqueras Paris Webb during their 82-63 win March 22 at the Bicentennial Center inSalina, Kan.

TVCC sophomores AdutBulgak and RoddrickaPatton enjoy themoment of the secondtitle for the two playersfollowing a 65-46 winover Hutchinson at theBicentennial Center. Itwas the school’s eighthnational title.

Trinity Valley fresh-man JazmineSpears concen-trates on a freethrow during one oftheir national tour-nament games atthe BicentennialCenter in Kansas.

TVCC freshmanJazmine Spears andsophomore Shlonte’Allen celebrate after

winning their thirdstraight national title

on Saturday at theBicentennial Center.Trinity Valley head coach Elena Lovato is seen with the net fol-

lowing the Lady Cardinals eighth national title and thirdstraight title. Lovato was named the Coach of the Tournamentfollowing the 65-46 win over Hutchinson last Saturday.

Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinals players from left: Adut Bulgak, Shlonte’ Allen, Deborah Meeks and Jazmine Spears celebrate the school’s thirdstraight national championship at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan. Bulgak and Allen were members of last year’s title team.

• PHOTOS BY JAYSON LARSON/TVCC SPORTS INFORMATION •



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History makersLady Cardinals defeat Hutchinson

65-46 for third straight national titleBy Joe Elerson

STAFF WRITER

Three straight titles.That was a feat that had

never been done before inthe history of NJCAA,Division I women’s bas-ketball.

On Saturday, the No. 1-ranked team in the landand the No. 1 seed in thetournament, the TrinityValley Community CollegeLady Cardinals (36-1) didjust that by defeating theHutchinson Blue Dragons,65-46, in the title game atthe Bicentennial Center inSalina, Kan.

“I thought they played real-ly good defense in the firsthalf,” coach Elena Lovatosaid. “I thought they held us tolike three points in the last 10minutes and I think they fig-ured out what we were tryingto do and held us to jumpers.”

The contest — whichwas the fourth straight ap-pearance in the title gameand 11th appearance over-all for the Lady Cards —was a rematch of the 2012national title game.

The Lady Cardinals pre-vailed 69-55 in that game.

TVCC is now 8-3 in theprevious 11 title games, win-ning titles in 1994, 1996, 1997,1999, 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

With their history mak-ing win, the No. 1-seededLady Cardinals knockedout the No. 3-seed and thenation's only undefeatedteam at 35-0 heading intothe contest.

The Lady Cardinals, intheir 19th national tourna-ment, ran their record inthe semifinals to 11-0 Fridaynight with an 82-63 winagainst Central Arizona.Hutchinson won its way tothe title game, jumping outto a big lead and holding offChipola for a 78-71 win.

The Lady Cardinals have

now won 29 games and havewon 108 of their last 110games (108 of 109 on thecourt).

Lovato was named theCoach of the Tournament,while Adut Bulgak, DeborahMeeks and RoddrickaPatton were named to the all-tournament team. Bulgakwas also named the tourna-ment MVP.

The first 20 minutes wasnot the typical style of bas-ketball for the LadyCardinals as they held aslim, 27-15, lead headinginto the locker room.

The defensive pressureby the Lady Cardinals wasferocious as Hutchinsonwent five-of-23 from thefield for 21.7 percent shoot-ing in the first half.

TVCC held a 22-9 leadwith seven minutes remain-ing as Patton found LeeLeeGrant for an old-fashionedthree-point play.

Hutchinson was able tocut into the deficit and cutthe lead to eight points overthe next five minutes asChelsea Dewey drove in fora layup followed by two freethrows from Kalani Purcellfor a 24-15 deficit.

Following a three-pointerfrom Meeks off of an assistfrom Coco Baker for the 27-15 lead at the half, Lovatosaid it was a quite lockerroom.

“We were a very quitelocker room and I thinkthey were locked in andready to here what the ad-justments were,” Lovatosaid. They were ready tocome out and finish whatthey started.”

TVCC sophomore guardShlonte’ Allen — who fin-ished with four points, tworebounds, two assists andone steal — said the adrena-line was high in the first half.

“I think the first 20 min-

utes had us too anxious tobe playing and we know wewould come out and be wor-rying about defense,” Allensaid. “I think we were wor-ried about our defense be-cause we knew our offensewould come.”

Spears said the LadyCards knew what needed tohappen.

“We went in there andsaid that we were going tostay focused and know thatthe score was 0-0,” Spearssaid. “We knew the gamewould start over at that pointand we could win the game.”

In the second half, theLady Cardinals outscoredHutchinson, 38-31, to winthe game by double figures.

“Some of us may havehad some fear in us or werenervous at the half but wegot in the locker room andsaid the first half was overwith and the score was 0-0,”Patton said. “We needed tocome out and pop them fromthe beginning and we didjust that.”

For Patton, this title washer fifth straight title as shefinished with one point, 11assists and six steals in 36minutes of play.

TVCC was led by Bulgakwith 17 points, 13 rebounds,one steal and one block,while Meeks had 13 pointson eight-of-12 shooting.

Trinity Valley ended thegame shooting 25-of-56from the field for 44.6 per-cent and five-of-17 fromthree point range.

The win over Hutchinsonwas the last game for LadyCardinal sophomoresBulgak, Patton, Allen,Dominique Brooks,Julianne Anchling, KyhontaDoughty, Meeks and Baker.Bulgak, Patton, Allen,Brooks, Anchling andDoughty are 72-2 (72-1 on thecourt) in their two years.

• 2014 NJCAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP •

COURTESY OF TVCC SPORTS INFORMATION

TVCC forward Adut Bulgak was named tournament MVP as she led the Cardinalsin scoring in three of their four games. Bulgak averaged 16 points per game dur-ing the tournament. She scored 17 points in their 65-46 win over Hutchinson inthe championship game.





Repeat?Complete

BENNY ROGERS/TVCC SPORTS INFORMATION

TVCC point guard Shannon Smith was named tournament MVP as she led theCardinals in scoring in three of their four games. Smith shot 52.8 percent fromthe field and averaged 22 points per game during the tournament. She scored14 points in their 83-71 win over Central Arizona in the championship game.

Lady Cards defeat Central Arizona83-71 to defend its national title

Tournament MVPShannon Smith (G) – Trinity ValleyCoach of the TournamentElena Lovato – Trinity Valley

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMFatima Adams (F) – BlinnShlonte Allen – Trinity ValleyRayven Brooks (G) – Chipola

Brea Edwards (G) – Central ArizonaKrystle Henderson (G) – Trinity ValleyJoymesia Howard (F) – Central Ari-zonaJamie Patrick (G) – HutchinsonTarvarsha Scott (F) – Northwest Flori-da StateNecole Sterling (F) – Gulf Coast StateTamara

All-Tournament Team

By Joe ElersonSTAFF WRITER

SALINA, Kan. — TheNo. 1 ranked Trinity ValleyCommunity College LadyCardinals capped out theirchasing seven campaignwith a national title 83-71over the Central ArizonaVaqueras Saturday night atthe Bicentennial Center.

The win capped off a 36-1season, with their only losscoming on a forfeit againstWeatherford in December.

First year coach ElenaLovato was speechless fol-lowing their win on KurtBudke court, the formerhead coach for the TVCCLady Cardinals.

“I honestly am speech-less,” Lovato said. “Ithought all along that I hadthe group of kids that couldget it done but I knew that itwas almost like a Godsendand a plan that he wantedme back in Athens. I feltlike he wanted me to bewith the community andwith the college. At thatpoint, I think I was led tothe right kids and it is like abig puzzle when you are outrecruiting trying to find theright pieces and the puzzlejust fit from the coachingstaff to the players and themanagers to trainers. It isamazing to be around peo-ple that you truly genuine-ly care about.”

This was the seventh ti-tle in 10 trips for the LadyCards but the road was noteasy in the title game.

During the first half, theLady Cardinals jumped outto nine point leads but us-ing their feisty defensivepressure to frustrateCentral Arizona.

During a three minutestretch, TVCC got basketsfrom Savannah Carter, a 3-pointer from Adut Bulgak,a steal and layup fromShlonte Allen and a freethrow from RoddrickaPatton for the 19-10 leadwith 11:30 remaining in the

first half of play.The tournament win

was the fifth straight yearPatton has made a highschool or national titlegame in her short career.

“Nobody was going tostop us tonight,” Pattonsaid after cutting down thenet. “This just feels amaz-ing right now winning thetitle. It was also amazing tofinish the season with therecord that we had. I amdefinitely speechless rightnow.”

The Lady Cards receivedanother solid game fromtournament MVP ShannonSmith — as she was deter-mined to finish her juniorcollege career with a na-tional title.

The sophomore guardled the Cardinals in scoringin three of their fourgames. Smith shot 52.8 per-cent from the field and av-eraged 22 points per gameduring the tournament.

She finished her careerwith 14 points, four re-bounds, five assists and twosteals.

“It is awesome and Icould not do it without myteammates,” Smith said fol-lowing the win. “I lovethose girls and I wish Icould take all of them toMichigan with me. Veryspecial and I swear to Godthat I wish I could takethem with me. I am gladthat we were able to get thenational championship.”

The Lady Cards lookedto be in the driver’s seatheading into the lockerroom as Smith drained ajumper from just inside the3-point line to give them a46-33 lead.

Lovato said the coachesknew Central Arizonawould not go home withouta fight.

“We wanted 20 moreminutes and the score was0-0 at the half,” Lovato said.“We wanted to come outthere and have the same

fire and defensive pressurethat we exerted in the firsthalf. Central Arizona wasnot going to go home andthat is a good group ofkids.”

In the second half, theVaqueras outscored TVCC,38-37, and cut the lead tofour points at, 65-61, on anold-fashioned three pointplay from JoymesiaHoward with 9:18 remain-ing.

“It is a game of runs andcoach is always telling usthat,” Smith said. “We al-ready knew that if we wereto get down we could pickeach other back up andcould out and win.”

TVCC was able tooutscore Central Arizona,18-10, the remainder of thegame after the basket byHoward.

With 3:44 remaining, theLady Cardinals put the nailin the coffin as Pattonfound Carter wide open forthe layup as time was run-ning out on the shot clockfor the, 77-65, lead.

Lovato said winningback-to-back titles with anew team was definitelyworth it this season.

“It is an amazing bless-ing. They say this isCardinal Gym North,”Lovato said with a laugh.“We have an amazingcrowd with the fans andcheerleaders and it is def-initely a great traditionand following with a lotof passion here beingKurt Budke’s court. Westopped and shot aroundat Oklahoma State to tryand get that spiritual viberolling for us and I am ex-cited and speechless.”

Trinity Valley was led inscoring by Allen with 22points, while teammatesHenderson scored 14 andBulgak had a near doubledouble with 10 points andsix rebounds.

BENNY ROGERS/TVCC SPORTS INFORMATION

Coaches Gerald Ewing, Aaron Kallhoff and Elena Lovato discuss their strategy dur-ing one of the national tournament games last season.


Just perfectTVCC wins 6th title with 69-55 win over Hutch

By Jayson LarsonSPORTS EDITOR

SALINA, Kan. — Therewas one last piece of thenet dangling, and there wasonly one person in the are-na fit to cut it down.

Not Keuna Flax, who mo-ments earlier had beennamed MVP of the NJCAAWomen’s NationalChampionship tournament.

Not Kenya Landers, whowon a title as a player in1999 and coached the teamto the top this year.

Instead, Landersgrabbed Shelley Budke bythe arm and invited her upthe ladder at theBicentennial Center to fin-ish the job.

After all, it was Shelley’shusband, Kurt, who hadstarted the job nearly 20years earlier at TrinityValley Community College.

TVCC’s Lady Cardinalsfurther solidified the dy-nasty Mr. Budke built bywinning the school’s sixthwomen national champi-onship on Saturday with a69-55 win over Hutchinson(Kan.) CommunityCollege’s Lady BlueDragons at theBicentennial Center.

“We had some specialhelp with us tonight,” saidLanders, who, along withhusband and co-head coachMichael Landers, is now 70-3 in two seasons as TVCChead coach. “There was noway we were going to be de-

nied. No way.”With the victory, the

Lady Cardinals completedthe third undefeated sea-son in school history (36-0)— doing so by knocking offa Lady Blue Dragons teamthat was also undefeatedand playing in its first-everchampionship game.

Hutchinson, which playsits home games less thanan hour from theBicentennial Center andbrought thousands of fansfor the game, finished 36-1.

Prior to the champi-onship game, a dedicationceremony was held namingthe court “Kurt BudkeCourt.” Budke, a Salina na-tive, coached the LadyCardinals to four nationalchampionships in the1990s. He went on to be-come the head coach atLouisiana Tech and thenOklahoma State University.

Budke, along with formerLady Card and OSU assis-tant coach Miranda Sernaand two others, was killed ina plane crash last Novemberin Arkansas during a re-cruiting trip. He was 50.

So forgive the LadyCardinals if they were talk-ing about a perfect, made-for-Hollywood ending afterbeating Hutch and winningthe first-ever game on KurtBudke Court.

Flax, a sophomore, wasnamed outstanding playerof the tournament afterscoring 21 points in thechampionship game. She

also had 26 points in theLady Cards’ semifinals winover Pensacola StateCollege on Friday night.

Flax played only one sea-son at TVCC, having trans-ferred to the school afterspending two seasons atOklahoma State withBudke. Injuries left herlooking to restart her ca-reer.

One All-America seasonnow behind her, she foundthe restart she was lookingfor by becoming the sixthLady Cardinal to claimtournament MVP honors,joining Shalonda Ennis(1994), Jennifer Sposato(1996), Betty Lennox (1997),Yalika Barnes (1999) andYolanda Jones (2004).

The Lady Cardinalswere leading a 9-7 ballgamewith just under three min-utes gone in the contestwhen Flax began her magi-cal night. She hit her firstthree-pointer of the gameat the 16:39 mark, then spot-ted up and hit another 38seconds later to push thelead to 15-7.

Thirty three seconds lat-er, she hit another, leavingthe mostly partisan crowdrooting for Hutchinsonscreaming for someone toguard her.

Fans gasped in near uni-son when Flax ran arounda screen and took a passwith 13:48 to go in the half.She didn’t disappoint, sink-ing her fourth trey in lessthan three minutes to push

the lead to 21-11 and forceHutchinson head coachJohn Ontjes to call a time-out.

He called another onewith 5:16 left after Flax’sfifth three-pointer of thehalf gave the wire-to-wireNo. 1 team in the country a35-20 lead in the biggestgame of the season.

“A lot of that was myfault because of how wegame-planned,” Ontjes toldthe Hutchinson News.“Instead of being aggres-sive and doing what we hadall year, we played a passivezone and then we playedfrom behind the wholeway.”

Said Flax: “Coach saidanytime you’re open, shootthe ball. So I just kept shoot-ing the ball and it was there.I fed off that crowd. I likedthat they were against us. Itdidn’t make me feel ner-vous. I was excited.”

The Lady Blue Dragonsdidn’t score over the final3:13 of the first half and fellbehind by 20 when TVCC’sother All-American,Sha’Kayla Caples, hit ajumper with five minutesto go in the game.

Much to the delight ofthe crowd, that was aboutto change.

Jackie Patterson com-pleted a three-point play af-ter being fouled on a shortjumper in the lane to sparka 13-0 run with 4:50 left. Thelast basket in the run was athree-pointer by Chelsea

Small, who hit theshot after the secondconsecutive LadyCardinal turnover.

Alice Robinsonstopped the bleedingwith a pair of freethrows with 2:23 togo, and StarrBreedlove hit twomore after TVCC re-bounded a Hutchmiss. The Lady BlueDragons’ next pos-session ended withan offensive fouldrawn by Flax.

All that was leftwas the celebrationby the most domi-nant JUCO team inthe history of thesport.

But is it a dynasty?“We’re the best ju-

nior college programin the country, andwe’ve got the num-bers to prove it,” Mr.Landers said. “I’m notsaying that to be arro-gant. It’s just thatthat’s who we tell re-cruits we are andthat’s what we’reabout and that’s what we’regoing to continue to do.”

Caples, one of threeLady Cards to be named tothe all-tournament teamalong with fellow sopho-mores Flax and BreannaLewis, finished with ninepoints to wrap up a bril-liant career at TVCC. Lewishad 14 points, includingfour threes, and Breedlove

finished with 12.“This means so much to

me,” sophomore JeneaBarrett said. “But it meansa lot to everyone on thisteam. We’ve been throughso much together. We’re sis-ters, and we couldn’t havedone this without everylast one of us.”

Every last one of ’em —including Kurt.

The Trinity Valley Lady Cardinals pour onto the court seconds after the finalbuzzer of their 69-55 win over previously unbeaten Hutchinson Community Col-

lege Saturday at the Bicentennial Center in Salina, Kan. The Lady Cards wonthe first-ever game on Kurt Budke Court, named for the school’s former coach.

MICKEY GARCIA/SCOREBOARDPHOTOS.COM


HUTCHINSON (55) — Laura Patrick17; Jackie Patterson 15; ChelseaSmall 8; Alysse Barlow 7; JasminePatterson 4; Lanicia Lawrence 2; AjaSorrells 2.TRINITY VALLEY (69) — Keuna Flax21; Breanna Lewis 14; StarrBreedlove 12; Sha’kayla Caples 9;Jenea Barrett 6; Alice Robinson 4;Keiana Vines 2; Ashley Jones 1.Halftime Score: TVCC 37, Hutchinson 25Three-Pointers: Hutchinson 5-17(Patrick 3; Small; Barlow). TVCC 9-20(Flax 5; Lewis 4). Turnovers: Hutchinson 20. TVCC 16.Points Off Turnovers: Hutchinson 16.TVCC 14. Free Throws: Hutchinson 12-19(Jackie Patterson 5-7). TVCC 18-24(Flax 6-6). Team Fouls: Hutchinson 17. TVCC 18.Fouled Out: Hutchinson-none. TVCC-none.Technical Fouls: Hutchinson.-none.Trinity Valley-none.Records: Hutchinson 36-1. TVCC 36-0.

LADY CARDINALS 69, LADY DRAGONS 55




Bulgak named finalist for WBCA Player of the YearOne of the best

COURTESY OF TVCC PUBLIC INFORMATION

TVCC sophomore Adut Bulgak has been named as a finalist for the Women’s Bas-ketball Coaches Association Player of the Year award. The winner will beannounced on April 7.

From Staff ReportsThe postseason awards

saw five Trinity ValleyCommunity College LadyCardinals recognized fortheir hard work on thecourt this season.

TVCC’s Adut Bulgakwas named to the all-regionteam of Region 14, alongwith teammate Shlonte’Allen.

On the honorable men-tion, freshman JazmineSpears and sophomoreDeborah Meeks were alsorecognized.

On the all-conferenceteam, Bulgak and Allenwere able recognized fortheir play this season.

National tournamentmembers Blinn and TylerJunior College also had se-lections on the team.

From Blinn, FatimaAdams was named to theall-region team, whileteammate Tierra Tuckerand Shunta Nevitt werenamed to the honorablemention.

All-conference membersfor Blinn were Adams andKatrina Hayden.

Tyler Lady ApacheMalena Washington andShernise Robertson werenamed to the all-regionteam.

On the all-conferenceteam, Washington andRobertson were recognized

along with teammatesVictoria Kemokai andCaitlyn Ramirez.

Superlative honors weregiven to Washington asfreshman of the year andTyler coach Trenia TillisJones was named the coachof the year.

The Region XIV MostValuable Player award wasgiven to Jacksonville’sDevanyar Workman.

Below is the list of theall-conference team:Fatima Adams - BlinnAdut Bulgak - TVCCDevanyar Workman - JacksonvilleMalena Washington - TJCShernise Robertson - TJCShlonte Allen - TVCCKendra Howard - San JacintoYosha Watson - AngelinaAndreanna Jackson - BPCCChy Cunningham - ParisImaobong Akpan - KilgoreKatrina Hayden - BlinnVictoria Kemokai - TJCKierra Campbell - PanolaCaitlyn Ramirez - TJC

Members of the all-re-gion team were:Fatima Adams - BlinnAdut Bulgak - TVCCDevanyar Workman - JacksonvilleMalena Washington - TJCShernise Robertson - TJCShlonte Allen - TVCCKendra Howard - San JacintoYosha Watson - AngelinaAndreanna Jackson - BPCCChy Cunningham - Paris

TVCC’s Bulgak, Allen named to All-Region teamJUNIOR COLLEGEBASKETBALL


Trinity Valley sophomore guard Shlonte’ Allen was named to the All-Region team and the all-conference teamfor Region XIV on March 8 at the regional tournament on the campus of the University of Texas-Tyler. Allenwas considered the sixth man of the team bringing valuable minutes off of the bench for the Lady Cardinals.

The Women’s BasketballCoaches Association(WBCA) announced todaythe finalists for the 2014WBCA Junior/CommunityCollege Player of the Yearaward.

They are:• Adut Bulgak, 6’4”,

Sophomore, Forward,Trinity Valley CommunityCollege

• Capree Garner, 5’7”Sophomore, Guard,Harford CommunityCollege

• Itiana Taylor, 6’0”,Sophomore, Forward,Weatherford College

The WBCA presents theplayer of the year awardannually to the top playerin each of the six WBCAmembership divisions(NCAA Divisions II, III,NAIA, junior/communitycollege and high school).The winner will be an-nounced during the fourthannual WBCA AwardsShow on Monday, April 7, inthe Omni Nashville Hotel’sBroadway Ballroom. Thisevent is part of the WBCANational Convention and isheld in conjunction withthe NCAA® Women’s FinalFour® in Nashville.

“The WBCA congratu-lates these student-athleteson being named finalistsfor the 2014 WBCAJ u n i o r / C o m m u n i t yCollege Player of the Yearaward,” said WBCA CEO

Beth Bass. “These playershave helped guide theirteams to exceptional sea-sons and are seeing theirhard work and dedicationto the game pay off. I wisheach of these women goodluck at the WBCA AwardsShow in Nashville.”

The 10-memberJunior/Community CollegeCoaches’ All-America Teamwas selected by a vote of theselection committee. Thecommittee is composed ofone representative fromeach of the nine geographi-cal regions and a chairper-son. The members of the2014 WBCAJunior/Community CollegeCoaches’ All-America Teamare as follows:Abigail Asoro Iowa Western Commu-nity College Adut Bulgak Trinity Valley Communi-ty CollegeDionna Collins Redlands CommunityCollegeCapree Garner Harford CommunityCollegeTiffany Gehl Minnesota West Com-munity & Technical CollegeTraci Parks Collin County CommunityCollege Shernise Robertson Tyler Junior Col-legeLisa Marie Sanchez Ventura College Carlee Schuhmacher Des MoinesArea Community CollegeItiana Taylor Weatherford College

“The 10 members of the2014 WBCAJ u n i o r / C o m m u n i t yCollege Coaches’ All-America Team are well de-serving of this honor andthe WBCA congratulatesthem for their efforts this

season,” said WBCA CEOBeth Bass.

“These young womenhave done an exceptionaljob of pushing the women’sgame to a new standard.”

The following have beenrecognized as Coaches’ All-America Team HonorableMentions in thejunior/community collegedivision:Shlonte’ Allen Trinity Valley Commu-nity CollegeErin Ashley Bean McLennan Com-munity CollegeJasmine Brainard South Plains Col-legeBriana Brooks Weatherford College Kamilah Carter Owens CommunityCollege Shanice Davis McLennan Communi-ty CollegeAlexius Dawn South Plains CollegeCassidy Harbert Kansas City Com-munity CollegeShomari Harris Collin County Com-munity CollegeCynthia Hernandez Ventura College Joymesia Howard Central ArizonaCollege Kendra Howard San Jacinto CollegeDestinee Jernigan Frederick Commu-nity CollegeSameia Kendall Johnson CountyCommunity CollegeAndriana Moore Wabash Valley College TaSheena Moore South Plains CollegeAlexis Newbolt Moberly Area Com-munity CollegeTimeka O’Neal Johnson CountyCommunity CollegeKimberly Scott San Diego Mesa CollegeJazmine Spears Trinity Valley Com-munity CollegeCheyenne Swoops Frank PhillipsCollegeMalena Washington TJCAshley Whisler Santa Anna CollegeMariah Willadsen Mesa CommunityCollegeTayler Young Collin County Commu-nity College

—TVCC SportsInformation




The 2013-14 three-time NJCAA Division I national champion Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinals players and coaches took their official team photo onWednesday. Members from front row left are: Jazmine Spears, Kyhonta Doughty, Julianne Anchling, coach Elena Lovato, LeeLee Grant, Dominique Brooks and AdutBulgak. Members from back row left are: Roddricka Patton, Shlonte’ Allen, Deborah Meeks, manager Scott Pellegrin, assistant coach Spencer Robertson, assistantcoach Gerald Ewing, Sylvia Smith-Gatson, Autummn Williams and Coco Baker.

2013-14 TVCC Lady CardinalsSeason record of 36-1, Conference record of 18-0


2013-14 TVCC Cardinals Game-by-Game Results2013-14 TVCC Cardinals Game-by-Game Results

DominiqueJosephs

AldonisFoote

KentrellWashington

ClarenceWilliams

DilepsoBlanco

MalcolmRiley

NicolaiBrown

OctaviusEllis

KevinJordan

Josh Robinson

DedrickBasile

PatrickIngram


Trinity Valley sophomore Octavius Ellis was named the 2014 Most Valuable Playerof Region XIV. He was also named to the first team all-region team.


Cardinals record at the NJCAA Tournament


2013-2014 TVCC CardinalsSeason record of 29-7, Conference record of 15-4


The Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals wrapped up the season as the No. 8-ranked team in the nation and an Elite 8 finish in the national tournament. TheCardinals finished third on the school’s all-time win list with 29 wins this season. Pictured front row left are: Malcolm Riley, Aldonis Foote, Dedrick Basile, PatrickIngram, Dilepso Blanco and Kentrell Washington. Pictured back row left are: Josh Robinson, Dominique Josephs, Kevin Jordan, Octavius Ellis, Nicolai Brown andClarence Williams. Ellis was the only member of last year’s team to return to the Cardinals this year.




By Joe ElersonSTAFF WRITER

The ride for the TrinityValley Community CollegeCardinals wrapped up onThursday afternoon with a69-56 loss to the HarcumCollege Bears in the Elite 8at the Hutchinson SportsArena.

“I don’t want to take any-thing away from Harcumbecause they are a goodbasketball team,” coachKris Baumann said. “Wejust didn’t have it tonightand I don’t know if we weretired or what it was butthey are a very talentedbasketball team.”

TVCC finished its seasonwith a 29-7 record as the No.8-ranked team in the na-tion.

Baumann said he wasdisappointed that they werenot playing in the FinalFour and he would takesome time to think about

how the season ended.“I don’t feel very good

right but I think in a coupleof weeks when I look backand I am fishing out atCoach (Leon) Spencer’spond that it was a prettygood year,” Baumann said.“I am proud of the seasonand we wanted to make it tothe final four but it just did-n’t happen.”

This was the first tripback to the national tourna-ment for the Cardinals, wholast played in the tourna-ment during the 1999 season.

The Cardinals had ahard time dealing with avery athletic Harcum teamthroughout the contest.

Early on in the contest,the Cardinals went on a 6-0lead as Malcolm Rileynailed a jumper followed bya layup from Octavius Ellisoff of an assist fromDedrick Basile with 14:50remaining.

Basile then stole the ballfrom the Bears and drove infor a fast break layup and a14-9 lead.

Harcum was able to goon a run of their own latein the first half as IbnMuhammad gave them a,23-22, lead with 4:41 remain-ing in the game.

TVCC was held scorelessfor over four minutes untilEllis scored a rebound put-back off a missed layupfrom Patrick Ingram forthe 24-23 lead.

TVCC tried to put onsome pressure late in thehalf, but they wereoutscored 12-4 in the finalfour minutes of the firsthalf.

TVCC trailed, 35-26, atthe half, as they shot 12-of-34 from the field in the firsthalf.

“We have never been agood three-point shootingteam all year and we have

struggled,” Baumann said.“We tried to do some thingsdifferent tonight and wewere up 20-16 early but theybattled back and sent ushome.”

They were led in scoringby Ellis, who had a double-double after the first 20minutes of play with 10points, 10 rebounds, twoblocked shots, one assistsand one steal.

On Harcum’s first pos-session of the second half,TVCC left Ivan Uceda wideopen for a three pointer toextend their lead to 38-26.

On the Cardinals nextpossession, Basile foundAldonis Foote for a jumperin the paint to get to within,38-28, with 18 minutes re-maining.

Foote had a solid gamescoring 16 points andadded six rebounds andtwo steals in his final gameof the season.

Foote had a nice up andunder basket for a 49-47deficit with 8:15 remainingin the game.

With three minutes re-maining in the contest, theCardinals looked like theywould make the comebackas they have in the first twogames of the tournament.

Malcolm Riley was ableto drain a three-pointer offan assist from Basile to cutthe deficit to 57-55.

Harcum went on a 6-0run as Shevon Thompsondrained four-of-six freethrows during the run.

The key play during therun happened with 2:30 re-maining as Ellis was calledfor a foul on Muhammad.He was then called for atechnical on the play.

They were able to makeit an eight point lead as thetwo players drained theirfree throws.

Harcum then iced the

game with one minute re-maining as Uceda scored alayup followed by two freethrows from Travis Hesterfor the win.

Ellis finished his TrinityValley career with a game-high 18 points and 16 re-bounds to go along withthree blocked shots, two as-sists and one steal in 31minutes of play.

Foote scored 16 points togo with six rebounds andtwo steals. Riley had ninepoints and five reboundsfor Trinity Valley.

TVCC finished the gameshooting 24-of-71 from thefield for 33.8 percent andshot five-of-15 for 33.3 per-cent from the charity stripe.

Harcum was led in scor-ing by Thompson with 14points and 14 rebounds,Hakeem Rogers andJordan Goodman with 13points each and Uceda with11 points.

A look back: TVCC ousted in Elite 8 with 69-56 loss to Harcum



PRIDEin the

CARDSCardinals finish in the Elite 8 in

their first appearance since 1999.Head coach Kris “Bucket” Baumann led the Cardinals to theElite 8 and a 29-7 season in his second year at the helm. TheCardinals had one player from last year’s team return insophomore post Octavius Ellis.

Trinity Valley’s Josh Robinson was a big time player on the defensive end of the courtfor the Cardinals. Robinson is seen guarding a Pratt defender during their 68-65 win inthe opening game of the tournament.

This young man wasamong a group of kidsfrom Hutchinson, Kan.,volunteering at themen's nationaltournament as a floorsweeper during timeouts. He sat dutifullystill while waiting forhis time to clean thefloor until he wasinfected by the spirit of the TVCCCheerleaders, whowere doing their thingjust a few feet away.By the middle of thegame, he wasmimicking some of themotions of thecheerleaders.

Sophomore OctaviusEllis and coach KrisBaumann are seentaking questions duringa post game pressconference at thenational tournament.Trinity ValleyCommunity Collegefinished the seasonat 29-7.

Aldonis Foote was huge for the Cardinals during the run at thenational tournament with his high intensity and will to win.Foote is seen driving to the basket against Pratt CommunityCollege in their first game of the tournament.

Dedrick Basile and Malcolm Riley enjoy the moment after their first game of the NJCAA Men’s National Basketball Tournament at the Hutchinson Sports Arena. The duo played a role in the Cardinals making it to the Elite 8 of the tournament.

• PHOTOS BY JAYSON LARSON/TVCC SPORTS INFORMATION •

TVCC sophomoreOctavius Ellis wasthe only returningplayer off of lastyear’s team. Heplayed a leadershiprole in theCardinals making it to the nationaltournament.


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