For Immediate Release – May 7, 2021
Lake Land College Women’s Basketball Team Wins National Championship
The team earned the national title at the championship game April 24 where the Lakers won against the Johnson County Cavaliers with a score of 53-49 in Hickory, North Carolina.
The team qualified for the national tournament last year, but the event was cancelled due to the pandemic. With 10 sophomores on the team, Head Coach Dave Johnson said missing out on last year’s tournament only fueled the team’s motivation to win this year.
“From day one we said ‘We’re getting back’,” Johnson said. “They just kind of willed their way to win. We were down five in the fourth quarter. We called time out. Everyone was calm and they just went out and did it.”
Finishing the season with a 25-2 overall record, the Lakers achieved a 16-game win streak to close out the season including the national championship game.
“We knew this could be the year we would bring home a Laker championship,” Lake Land College President Josh Bullock said. “As a college community, we are so proud of our Women’s Basketball Team for working so long and so hard to make this victory possible.”
During the event, the college revealed a new permanent national championship banner that honors the team.
Harley Barry, Shiloh, was voted Most Valuable Player, and Kamaria Gant, Bloomington, earned 2nd Team All-American. Johnson also earned the Coach of the Tournament Award at the national championship game, and was named NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year.
The members of the Lake Land College Women’s Basketball Team include freshmen Karrington Krabel, Paris; Olivia Niemerg, Teutopolis and Avery Still, Sullivan and sophomores Barry, Gant, Joanna Schultz, Altamont; Tresoir Newson, Normal West; Abigayle Weis, Effingham; Jaelynn Riggleman, Casey-Westfield; Shania Schoonover, Pana; Josie Orris, Sullivan; Elizabeth Buescher, Charleston and Mikayla Sirjord, Ulen-Hitterdal, MN.
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