LOCK HAVEN — “Spectacular” is the only word that can be used to describe this year’s dynamo season for the Lock Haven women’s basketball team. The heights of success they achieved are unlike anything any living Bald Eagle basketball fan has ever seen.
Head coach Jennifer Smith and her team cruised through the PSAC, posting a 29-4 season and qualifying for the PSAC Championship and the NCAA Division II Tournament. They also had a perfect regular season home record of 19 straight wins this season, and by the end of the season, they were ranked nationally and were the No. 1 seed in the PSAC East.
“Mentally, I think we took things game by game. This team never got too high or got too low. I attribute a lot of the wins to the day-to-day consistency and keeping the team angry. I am contributing.” Coach Smith explained: “This group was very reserved and they were getting a lot of attention with their winning streak and they didn't seem to like that. They just wanted to keep doing their job and keep winning games. Something really great happened. But that wasn't the goal we were trying to achieve.”
It's safe to say that no one expected Lock Haven to be this successful, let alone the PSAC voters who picked it to finish sixth in the East Division earlier this year. That was a reasonable guess since that's where they finished the year before. Coach Smith took this as a sign of disrespect, and apparently so did his players.
“I was pissed when I was chosen sixth.” Smith said. “I was very, very angry. But I think that was the best thing that happened to us because it gave us energy throughout the whole season. We were all very angry. I knew I had to prove them wrong at the end of the season.''
When the Eagles started the year with momentum, it didn't take long for voters to regret their choice. They lost their first game before going on a 19-game winning streak, defeating every PSAC school they faced. When speaking about the winning streak, Coach Smith mentioned how the team handled the success and how they kept their eyes on the end goal.
The winning streak came to an end on February 3rd when they lost by 9 points to Westchester. With the pressure of a winning streak gone, Lock Haven was quickly back in position to dominate any team that came in their way. The Bald Eagles ended the year with seven straight wins, earning them the No. 1 seed in the East and the right to play host to the women's team in the PSAC playoff bracket.
“Every year it goes back and forth between West and East for the host nation. I've never seen it before, so why would I watch it? But when we have a multi-game lead over Westchester? As we built, the goal became hosting the PSAC here at the Fieldhouse. It was special. Special for the team, special for the school, special for the town.”
“It was huge to give it our all on the court and beat Cal in the semifinals. Then it was Gannon, and you know, Gannon is really good at basketball. Two of our four losses this year were It was their loss and they were winning National Player of the Year. So you have to give them the credit they deserve.”
Lock Haven had an impressive performance in the PSAC playoffs, defeating third-seeded Cal 54-51, but lost to the Golden Knights 80-65 in the PSAC Championship. Despite the crushing loss, the Bald Eagles quickly set their sights on the NCAA Tournament in Erie.
“I've been saying this to this team for years.” Mr. Smith said: “I want them to play in the NCAA Tournament.” Smith said. “This was one of the highlights for me as a player, and I’ve been pushing that to the team.”
It was no secret that bald eagles dance. And in an ironic twist of fate, Lock Haven finds itself facing Cal once again. Things changed in the second playoff matchup between these two teams, but the result remained the same, with Lock Haven winning 74-60. Unfortunately, the result remained the same and Gannon once again sent the Bald Eagles home with a 91-72 victory, ending Lock Haven's season.
When I reflect on what fueled this great year, two names that come to mind are sophomores Alana Robinson and Jennadiah Jordan. Robinson scored a whopping 14 points per game and also broke his own single-season blocks record with 82 blocks. Robinson also set a program record for blocks in his career last season, now totaling 135 blocks in just two years.
While Robinson was dominant defensively, Jordan was just as impressive offensively. Jordan finished the season averaging 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. Point guard Taylor Reidy, freshman centers Lynn Rouse and Madeline Evans, junior guards Olivia Smith and Brooke Lawyer, and senior forwards Kylie Metzger and Jackie Fetsko also contributed to the record season.
Women's sports, especially basketball, “boring” or “Sloppy”, but anyone who saw Lock Haven this year quickly realized how untrue that was. And Coach Smith reflected on what that means for the sport as a whole.
“Everyone has a mother, sister, daughter or niece who loves sports.” “It's been a battle since the beginning of Title IX,” Smith said. “All we need is support, and I think once you're actually on the ground, people are starting to look at that support. They're like, 'Wow. It's like, 'These girls are playing hard, they're playing the right way.' I think the current efforts in women's basketball are great.
Looking ahead, there seems no reason not to expect similar success next season as Lock Haven returns many of its key players. While Coach Smith is looking forward to another successful season, he is also tempering his expectations for 2025.
“I think what we did this year was very special and very difficult. I'm trying to talk to the team, but we probably won't be able to recreate that record again. Make another conference championship game. Can we do it? Yes. Can we have an NCAA Tournament? Yes. I think there's room for that for the next two to three years. We want to be successful. We want to be successful. We want to play basketball the right way and we want to get good grades. That's what we're all about.”
It's safe to say that expectations are very high for this program, but only time will tell if Lock Haven can live up to them. But there's no reason to think it can't be done after this year's season.
