BOSTON – The one thing that the NCAA wants to stress to everyone who gets involved in participating in a national championship event is the idea of having an extremely positive "experience."
If Rayne Reber had any doubts about how her Rosemont Ravens were enjoying their time in the spotlight, she got confirmation early on Thursday morning from two of her players.
"Jayme (Byers) and Shirle (Brown) came up to me this morning and said that this is a lot of fun," Reber recalled on Thursday evening. "As a coaching staff, we sat down and we realized that not one player had ever been to Boston ever in their life. And just because of that, they are excited. "They are thrilled that they’ve gone to different restaurants, different shops, walking in the hotel lobby and seeing the Rosemont logo on the door to their rooms. It’s an incredible thing they have seen."
On Friday, the experience changes. The Ravens will play neighborhood rival Haverford in the first round of the Division III NCAA Women’s Tournament at Tufts University.
After winning 19 straight and rolling to an undefeated CSAC championship, the Ravens will face their stiffest test of the season. Haverford was the champions of the Centennial Conference, going 21-6 and beating top-seed Gettysburg by a 62-40 score on the road. Three teams from the Centennial ended up making the NCAA’s.
The Fords are lead by senior guard Macy Goldbach, who was named a First-team All-Centennial Conference selection. A pair of juniors — Anna-Sophia Capizzi and Megan Furch – were also All-Centennial selections.
The game will likely be decided by defense. The Fords are fourth in the nation in opponents points per game at 47.9 points allowed per game. The Ravens are currently 46th in the country in that category at 54.4. However, Rosemont is ninth in field goal percentage defense at 31.9 percent yield while Haverford is 33rd at 33.5 percent.
"I think our biggest thing is that Haverford is so well disciplined and they execute the offense with Option1, Option 2 and Option 3," Reber said. "And the other thing is we’re not used to a team that you have to play all 30 seconds on the shot clock on both ends. They can score late in the clock and you have to play defense against them with that. And they will play you for all 30 seconds on the other end. So we have to limit them to one and dones on the defensive end and we have to take advantage of the chances that may come our way."
The biggest challenge for the Fords could be how to match up against 6-foot-3 Ashley Murray. The CSAC’s Player of the Year is averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Furch could end up being the primary defender, but a lot of teams that have played Rosemont have thrown a zone defense in order to try to limit Murray’s effectiveness in the post.
That could open up a lot of opportunities for Ke’alohilani Naone-Carter, Byers, Brown and Ayanna Thompson (who was the MVP of the CSAC Championships) in order to keep the Fords honest defensively.
"When you play in this level, you can’t be a one-stop shop," Reber said. "You need everyone to show up and play their proper role. We need everyone to provide things they have all season long."
And after a week that has been filled with excitement, game time is here for the Ravens.
"I actually the environment is what our girls deserved and needed," Reber said. "They have worked hard and got the excitement they deserved. But with our practice, we stayed with our regular routine and drills. They were able to get the excitement they worked hard for outside, but they’ve stayed dedicated to what got them here."
