Just in case you hadn’t noticed, Loyola’s women’s basketball team is pretty good.
They have rattled off 16 straight victories, all in conference, while maintaining a perfect home record. This team has broken many school records, including most wins in a season (24). They are ranked in the NAIA Top 25 (No. 21), for the first time in Loyola history, and they also won the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season crown for the first time.
As if that wasn’t enough, head coach Dobee Plaisance took home Coach of the Year honors, freshman phenomenon Trenese Smith won both Player and Freshman of the Year and mass communication junior Kiely Schork, Smith and psychology freshman Trenell Smith were all voted to the All-Conference Team.
Though it is hard to pinpoint what made this team so good, it all has to start with the coach. You’ll not meet a classier person than Plaisance. After all of their games, she was the first to deflect the credit onto her players.
All of Plaisance’s hard work would mean nothing if she did not have phenomenal players to carry out her game plans. You can’t talk about Loyola basketball this season without mentioning the new Player and Freshman of the Year in the GCAC, Trenese Smith. Smith, listed at 5-foot-8, spent the entire season playing out of position at forward, battling bigger and stronger opposition. That obviously didn’t stop her, as she exploded for 17.7 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Her season included a 32-point effort against University of Mobile and 30-point performance against William Carey a week later. Besides her sheer numbers, her efficiency was extremely impressive for a freshman, shooting over 43 percent from the field. Trenese put together, probably, the finest season ever by a Loyola freshman.
Her twin sister, Trenell, also had an incredible year. Trenell, playing point guard as a true freshman, racked up 13.6 points, 5.25 rebounds and just under four assists per game. Trenell’s quiet leadership, toughness and willingness to take the big shot were key to the ‘Pack’s success this season.
Coach Plaisance sums up the twins’ effect best with, “The twins, being freshmen, had no choice. They had to play like vets. They are both so smart, and they both understand how to play big-time college basketball. They are the type of players that every coach desires to have. The sky’s the limit for these two.”
Though the twins had the eye-popping stat lines, they wouldn’t have had a chance without their upperclassman tandem of criminal justice graduate student Dani Holland and mass communication senior Kiely Schork.
Holland is the kind of player every good team has, unassuming enough to fly below the radar.
Easily the most versatile member of the squad, with averages of seven points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, Holland literally does it all. Also, this year she became Loyola’s leading all-time rebounder. Plaisance praised Holland.
“She’s like a Timex watch,” she said. “She can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. Her intensity is what makes us a really tough team to beat.”
Schork, on the other hand, may be the best pure shooter on a team full of great shooters.
Plaisance claims, “Kiely is one of the most prolific shooters in the country. She is extremely hard to guard.”
She also does all the little things, including taking charges, fighting for boards and making the extra pass. If it were not for Schork and Holland’s veteran leadership, this team would have been lost.
Though they are sometimes forgotten, the role players were also essential to the team’s success. The stars would not have shone so bright if it weren’t for Christine Mainguy, management junior, and psychology pre-med senior Kim Rigg’s willingness to do all the dirty work. Whenever they really needed a bucket, they could always count on criminal justice freshman Marley Milton to fire up some instant offense down low.
Sharpshooters Catherine Blanchard, management junior, and Katie Hernandez, English senior, were always ready to drain some treys, even if they got limited chances. Adama Mballow, sociology sophomore, and Atoyia Scott, performance freshman, are intriguing young talents who will undoubtedly find more minutes next season. This team strikes the perfect balance between young talent, veteran leadership and steady bench play.
Lastly, if there is one thing that took this team from good to special, it’s their team chemistry.
I have never been around a group who supports, cheers on and seems to like each other so much more than this team. When asked what makes her team so special, Plaisance responded, “It’s the team chemistry. This team has the strongest team chemistry and team unity that I’ve seen in some time.”
Holland said, “This team just has such great character. We’ve been through so much together, and all we want is for the other to succeed.”
In basketball, everybody is always talking about playing the game the right way. I always wondered what that really meant. I’ve been on a lot of basketball teams, and I have to admit this Wolfpack team is the epitome of playing the game the right way.
They have an unbelievable leader who loves and respects the game and everyone involved in it. You will never see Plaisance insulting or degrading a ref, a fan or player. If there was ever a team that adopted a coach’s identity, this is that team.
No matter how many cheap shots they absorbed, they always maintained their class on and off the court.
The one thing that they all share is a respect for the game, which is summed up by Plaisance. “I think it is essential to have respect for the game. If you’re gonna get respect, you have to give it. And I truly believe that each and every one of my players gives that kind of respect to the game.”
Daniel Alvarez can be reached at [email protected].
