HEARTBREAKING LOSS FOR BLUGOLDS IN 1997 NCAA TITLE GAME

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - The atmosphere was electric.  The fans were rabid.  It was March, 1997 and women's basketball was being showcased at the highest level on the UW-Eau Claire campus.

A quarter of a century ago, the Blugold women's basketball team was the talk of the town.  After playing for years, largely unnoticed in the McPhee Phy Ed Center, the women's program gained a dedicated following in Zorn Arena under the watchful eye of a young and frenetic coach named Lisa Stone.

Who were the players? | Memories of 1996-97

When she took over the program in 1988, the Blugolds switched their national affiliation in women's basketball from NAIA to NCAA.  The campus and community had been weaned on the success of the men's program in the NAIA from 1968 through 1995 under the legendary Ken Anderson who took 15 teams to the NAIA Nationals in Kansas City and regularly packed Zorn Arena for home games.

But it was the women who took center stage in the 1996-97 season.  The 34-year-old Stone was in her ninth season and had directed the women's program to seven 20-win campaigns and seven NCAA post-season appearances including three straight in the final eight.  Just three years earlier, the Blugolds had hosted the NCAA Division III Final Four in Zorn Arena with full houses and a live community TV audience.

The Blugolds completed the 1996-97 regular season with a 22-3 record and shared the conference championship with UW-Stout with a 14-2 mark.  The Blugolds had beaten defending NCAA national champion UW-Oshkosh twice during the conference campaign but had lost two times to Stout, once in overtime and then by three points at home in the final week of the regular season.  That was the Blugolds' only home setback that year.

The Blugolds had hoped to get the No. 1 seed in the region which would have guaranteed them the home court through the sectional.  But the top spot went to Millikin University of Illinois with the Blugolds second, Oshkosh third and Stout fourth—all four teams blue ribbon programs under veteran coaches.

Coach Stone was counting on her experience to bolster the Blugolds in the playoffs.  Seniors Erika Schmidt, Angie Cerni, Nici Claymon and Brenda Gunn had been on that 1994 Final Four squad as freshmen.  But with rival Stout in the playoffs for the sixth time in seven years, the Blugolds had to share the limelight with the Blue Devils initially. 

The March 3 Leader-Telegram (L-T) had the banner headline "Eau Claire, Stout begin March madness".  The Blugolds breezed past Midwest Conference champion Beloit College, 78-57, in their tourney opener while Stout edged Wheaton, Illinois, 65-60; Oshkosh toppled Blackburn, Illinois, 89-52; and Millikin ousted Washington University, Missouri, 61-53.  That brought Oshkosh to Zorn Arena with the Blugolds needing to beat the Titans for a third time that season and having been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament the previous two years by Oshkosh.

The L-T's banner headline on March 9 explained why the Blugolds were able to claim a 63-56 triumph: "Schmidt comes in loud and clear."  The 6-foot post from Marshfield Columbus called for the ball down the stretch and delivered.  Sophomore teammate Allison Berg was quoted as saying "When Erika wants the ball, you give her the ball."  Schmidt scored eight of her game-high 27 points in the final four minutes.  She also helped cool the Titans' 5-11 Kelly Warnke who led Oshkosh with 21 points and 13 rebounds.  But Warnke made just two baskets and a pair of free throws during the game's final 12 minutes as Schmidt provided weakside help on defense.

When Stout lost to top-seeded Millikin that same night, it meant the Blugolds would have to travel to Decatur, Illinois for the sectionals.  And the Blugolds would carry the banner forward for the WWIAC which was establishing itself as one of the top conferences in NCAA Division III.

In advance of their Sweet 16 appearance, the Leader-Telegram's front sports page on March 13 read "Blugolds rock to rolling Stone" with the sub-title "Energetic coach sets pace at UW-Eau Claire."  L-T staffer Loren Nelson described the many faces of the perfectionist Lisa Stone:  runner, mother (her children Alison and Tyler were 4 and 1 at the time), women's basketball coach, wife, recruiter, master motivator.  Heading into the Millikin Sectional, Stone had produced a 201-47 record in her first nine years at UWEC.  Nelson must have had a premonition about Stone, who less than two weeks later would be named the NCAA Division III National Coach-of-the-Year, receiving her recognition at the Division I tournament in Cincinnati.

A Wisconsin native who led Oregon to the state tournament in 1980, Stone went on to start at the University of Iowa for four years, playing her senior season for the legendary coach Vivian Stringer.  She finished with 1,129 points to become the school's second-leading scorer and set school records for career assists and game, season and career steals.

In the article, her players were lavish in their praise of Stone.  Nici Claymon was quoted as saying "She has the whole package.  There's not a faulty thing about her.  She's got the mind for the game, she's got the enthusiasm for the game, she's got the friendship for the game."  Angie Cerni described Stone as the team's "surrogate mother for seven months."

Nelson pointed out and any fans who watched Blugold games during her tenure can attest to the fact that "she is in constant motion during games, bounding up and down the sidelines as she yells instructions to her players."  She was not slowed the two seasons she was pregnant with her children who were born in April of those years.

Playing the sectional in Decatur, Illinois was a return to a familiar place for the Blugold upperclassmen.  They had played on Millikin's floor in 1996, beating the host Big Blue, 90-71, in the first game but bowing to Oshkosh, 62-57, in the Elite Eight contest.

This year, the Blugolds drew Thomas More, Kentucky in the sectional opener and it was no contest as the Blugolds roared to a 90-55 triumph.  The L-T sports section banner headline read  "Blugolds on brink of reaching Final Four".  It did not start out as a rout as the Blugolds found themselves down 6-0 after two minutes of play.  But they followed that with a 40-6 run during a 17-minute stretch for a 30-point lead at intermission.   Nici Claymon dished off for 10 assists to go with five rebounds and four steals.  Erika Schmidt tallied 18 points with 10 boards, four steals, and four assists.

That set up a showdown with the host school to advance to the Final Four.  Chris Carr covered the game for the L-T.  His first two paragraphs in the March 17 edition read like this:

"Coach Lisa Stone said her UW-Eau Claire women's basketball team would have to be hungry for Saturday's NCAA Division III Central Region Sectional final against host Millikin University.

"The Blugolds' appetite didn't come around until the second half, but once things started cooking Eau Claire was able to sink its teeth in the ultimate entre:  a Final Four appearance."

The Blugolds led by 13 points with four minutes to go but saw Millikin cut the deficit to one point with 20 seconds to play, hitting three three-pointers that prompted Stone to comment: "They were hitting 'em from just inside the time line.  And there was always somebody in their face, but they couldn't miss."  But four free throws by Erika Schmidt proved to be the comeback killer and sent the Blugolds to the Final Four.  She ended with a game-high 24 points, blocked four shots and hauled in eight rebounds.  Nici Claymon drilled four three-pointers and finished with 14.  After trailing 30-26 at halftime, Tanya Bauer scored eight consecutive team points as the Blugolds built their big lead and tallied 11 for the game.

Following the sectional, Coach Stone and the Blugolds had hopes of the Final Four returning to Zorn Arena as the policy at that time was for a participating team to host.  But Monday morning following the sectional, New York University was awarded the tourney.  The Violets were 27-1 for the season and unbeaten at home.  The combined record for the other three was 72-9.  That included a 28-3 mark for Scranton, PA which had advanced to the Final Four four times under coach Michael Strong, 26-3 for Capital, Ohio which had posted a 260-53 record in 11 seasons under Dixie Jeffers including back-to-back national titles in 1994 and 1995 and 26-3 for the Blugolds.

The L-T featured senior Erika Schmidt during the week leading up to the Final Four and rightly so.  She was not only the WWIAC basketball player-of-the-year but also the league's Scholar-Athlete award winner as well, following in the footsteps of former teammate Arlene Meinholz who was the first player to claim both awards in 1995.  At season's end, Schmidt would be named a WBCA First Team All-American, finishing with 118 career games, 1,547 points, 960 rebounds, 140 assists, 137 blocked shots and 127 steals.

Did the Blugolds have some motivation for their Final Four opener?  Yes, indeed.  Capital had come from behind to beat the Blugolds, 60-53, in the second game of the season on Capital's home floor in Columbus, Ohio.  Blugold players felt they had let that one slip away.  They committed 27 turnovers compared to just 12 for the Crusaders who also made 26 of 35 free throws in their win.

However, Capital entered the Final Four on a high note, having beaten No. 1 ranked and unbeaten Defiance, Ohio and No. 2 ranked and once-beaten St. Thomas, making the challenge even more daunting.

The Blugolds' appearance and performance in the Big Apple drew front page coverage from the Leader-Telegram, both on the front page of the newspaper and front page of the sports section following both games.

The Saturday, March 27 L-T proclaimed "Blugolds advance to championship" while the sports section screamed "Blugolds one win from title".

In the front page story, L-T's Chris Carr included several thoughts from Lisa Stone.  She said her team had come a long way since the loss against Capital in November.  "We've matured.  This team has been glued together, and we have strong leadership.  Now our glue is solid.  It's more like Super Glue."

In previewing the title showdown, she said "All the broken records and team records, that's all behind us.  This will be the biggest game of their careers.  They will remember playing in this one the rest of their lives."

The semifinal victory can be credited to the second-half performance by Angie Cerni.  She knocked down four three-pointers and 18 points in the final 20 minutes.  Her second trey tied the game at 48 and lit the fire for the Blugolds.  Before Capital could recover, the Blugolds were up 60-51 en route to a 77-63 win.  Erika Schmidt was the Blugolds' high scorer with 25 while Cerni finished with 20 and Allison Berg 15.  The Blugolds shot 51 percent from the field and converted 19 of 21 free throw attempts.

Later that night, the host school advanced to the championship showdown with an 84-72 decision over the University of Scranton.

The Sunday, March 23 edition of the L-T had a front page story dedicated to the Blugolds but it provided the sad, but true reality.  "Golden season ends on blue note" with the subhead "UW-Eau Claire women lose championship at the buzzer".

Chris Carr started his story like this: "Heartbreaking.  Simply heartbreaking."

"In a stunning finale, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's basketball team fell to host New York University in the NCAA Division III championship game, losing on a last-second shot by Violets star Marsha Harris.

"It's hard not to feel bad about the game," coach Lisa Stone said, fighting back tears.  "I told them to be proud.  We're the number two team in the country, and that's pretty damn good."

The Blugolds led almost the whole game including all of the second half – except for the last 1.7 seconds.  The loss might be akin to the recent Green Bay Packers' loss to San Francisco when the 49ers' only lead was the final score.

The Blugolds played a near-perfect first half and found themselves up by 13 at halftime.  They made the first basket of the second half to grab their largest lead of 15.  But Erika Schmidt sat much of the final 20 minutes in foul trouble and NYU starting converting its shots.

Stone called the game well-fought where one team had to lose.

The Blugolds were up 70-68 with 37 seconds to go and had the ball.  But it was picked off by the Violets' Aloysia Jaques who dribbled into the forecourt.  NYU called a time and the Violets' All-American guard Jen Krowlikowski nailed a jump shot with 28.6 seconds to knot the score.

Stone called a timeout to set up a play for Erika Schmidt.  The Blugolds ran the clock down, working for the final shot.  Schmidt was double teamed and her shot missed the mark.  NYU rebounded and the outlet pass hit Harris who was streaking down the right wing.  She laid in the winning basketball over point guard Nici Claymon.  Lisa Stone tried to call a final timeout but the noise of the partisan crowd of some 2,000 kept anyone from hearing and resulted in a mass storming of the court.

Harris was the thorn in the Blugolds' side the entire game, finishing with a game-high 26 points.  Stone paid tribute to the Violets' guard in the post-game interview, saying  "She's lightning quick.  She made a tough shot at the end.  What a layup."

Schmidt was in foul trouble for most of the game, picking up her fourth with 13:09 remaining.  Sophomore Allison Berg raised her play to a new level in Schmidt's absence with 25 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

In addition to Schmidt's foul issues, senior Angie Cerni, who was the hero in the semifinal win, also was plagued with fouls and eventually fouled out with 3:38 to go.  Her three-pointer with 6:28 remaining put the Blugolds ahead, 61-50.  Carr quoted Cerni as saying "I thought the momentum would come back to us with that three-pointer.  But we couldn't answer some of their runs.

"I think we had the momentum and it reversed and it's hard to get it back.  Especially when time's running out."

While the 1996-97 season ended on a sour note, most of the underclassmen on that team would go on to continued success in Stone's final three seasons at the Blugold helm including a 28-1 record in 1999-00.

There also would be no doubt that Blugold women's basketball was cemented on the national scene and more people in the Big Apple now knew where Eau Claire was located and would no longer call it "U Claire."  Oh yah!  Oh Claire!

Story by Sports Information Director emeritus Tim Petermann who accompanied the team on its Final Four trip to New York City.