SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity women’s basketball team, with head coach Cameron Hill at the helm, has maintained its elite status over the last decade in Division III.
The Tigers begin their hunt for a historic fourth consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship this weekend, but their players aren’t comparing this year’s team to years past.
“I don’t think you can really compare the two,” Trinity junior guard Josie Napoli said. “I think it’s just a completely new team, completely new system, completely new players and how we play the game.”
Trinity was forced into big personnel changes. Those began in the offseason and continued halfway into the regular season.
“I think it’s a pretty rare thing when you make wholesale changes right in the middle of the season and, basically, kind of start over,” Hill said.
The Tigers had already graduated most of its core from last season, but they took another hit with injuries and other external factors.
The result was a stretch of four losses in six games.
“Definitely, the winter break was kind of a slap in the face,” Napoli said. “We (said) have to make the most of this because nothing’s going to be handed to us at this point. And if we lose, we’re going to lose with dignity.”
During midseason, Trinity’s focus was on finding its identity and changing the system to fit the roster.
Hill said that process was successful because of his two experienced leaders: Napoli and senior guard Maggie Robbins.
“I don’t know if it happens without them,” Hill said about Napoli and Robbins. “Just the way that they’ve been able to recognize what needs to happen and understand the path, buy into the path and then come to practice every single day committed which is a way to lead by example. Which has been incredible in terms of the other ways players have fallen in line with that.”
Right now, the top-seeded Tigers await their second-round opponent at the SCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana to try and bring home another piece of hardware.
Due to those midseason losses, however, they’ll need to win the conference tournament to guarantee a national tournament bid, which adds unfamiliar pressure.
“When you’re used to having an insurance policy, you feel a little bit more comfortable, but there’s also that back-against-the-wall mentality where you know you have to fight your way into this,” Hill said. “I really have enjoyed not having to consider the regional rankings or the national rankings and just focus on this team every single minute, working to create a hunger within them that’s going to be very difficult to satisfy.”
With a first-round bye, Trinity will take the court on Saturday in the semifinals in hopes of accomplishing a SCAC tournament four-peat.