The Stevenson women’s basketball team ended their regular season with a record of 14-9 overall and an in-conference record of 11-5. With playoffs beginning Feb. 24, the team hopes to advance to the NCAA tournament yet again. The MAC Commonwealth semifinal will be held at Messiah College on Feb. 24, 2016 at 7 p.m.
Having already defeated Messiah twice this season, the Mustangs believe they are prepared for and confident about the first round of playoffs. Despite the team’s confidence, senior Brittney Page discusses the reality of the situation: “Messiah is a great team and they’re going to come ready to play,” she said. “We need to make sure we come out strong, do the little things, and execute our game plan.”
In Jackie Boswell’s fifth season as a head coach, this is the first recruited class that she will see graduate from Stevenson University. She shared her vision early on with the three recruits (now seniors): Brittney Page, Caitlin Roy, and Stephanie Martinez. Boswell wanted the players to be a part of the growing program and make it stronger.
Even as a young program, she saw how hardworking the players were and never lost sight of their potential. As she added new players, Boswell mentioned how different the team became. With each new recruit class, she wanted the women to recognize their strengths as a group and continue to reach for the vision of the program.
“I feel like we were able to prove ourselves in the past four years, and I would love for my teammates to hold the same respect we worked so hard for,” said Page.
With the regular season ending with back-to-back victories against Alvernia University (80-62) and Hood College (74-54), the team celebrated as junior Sara Tarbert scored her 1000th point as a Mustang in the Feb. 20 game. Tarbert was named the MAC Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 22, for the fifth time this season. She scored 16 points and 13 rebounds that night against Alvernia in what was just her 51st career game in Mustang green. According to GoMustangSports, she ranks sixth nationally in scoring and leads the Commonwealth Conference in scoring and rebounding.