Rested, refocused and ready to play

n The Golden Eagles departed for the NAIA Tournament in Montana on Monday.

Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Supporters of the John Brown University women’s basketball team gather around the players on Monday morning for a prayer led by Vice President Steve Beers just before the Golden Eagles departed for XNA for their flight to Billings, Mont., the site of the NAIA Division I National Tournament.
Graham Thomas/Herald-Leader Supporters of the John Brown University women’s basketball team gather around the players on Monday morning for a prayer led by Vice President Steve Beers just before the Golden Eagles departed for XNA for their flight to Billings, Mont., the site of the NAIA Division I National Tournament.

A little time off may be just what John Brown's women's basketball team needed.

The Golden Eagles haven't played since Feb. 28 when they lost at home 67-62 to Science and Arts (Okla.) in the opening round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.

Since then, JBU has used its time to rest but also get back to the basics while preparing for the program's fifth appearance in this week's NAIA Division I National Championships in Billings, Mont.

"It was a good combination of trying to get some rest but also trying to get refocused and clean up some things," said JBU head coach Jeff Soderquist just before the Golden Eagles departed Monday for XNA to fly out of Northwest Arkansas. "It was kind of nice to be able to have some of that time to work on some things that had been slipping as the season went on that you don't always have the time to work on when you get to this time of the year.

"Who knows, that loss to USAO may have been a blessing to get us refreshed and re-energized and refocused and maybe get us going to make a run here."

John Brown (22-8) is scheduled to play Benedictine (Kan.) at 7:15 p.m. (6:15 Mountain Daylight Time) on Thursday in the opening round of the tournament, which will be played at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings.

The Golden Eagles defeated the Ravens 70-66 at Bill George Arena on Nov. 1 to open the 2016-17 season. Despite the season-opening loss to JBU, the Ravens went on to a 25-8 record, including a 22-4 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. The Ravens started the season 7-5 but are 18-3 since Christmas break.

The Ravens are coached by Chad Folsomm, who had guided Benedictine to three straight national tournament appearances and four in the last five years.

"Chad's a good coach. I've known Chad for a long time. He does a really good job," Soderquist said. "They've obviously had a great season. They've had a great run after Christmas, too"

In the first meeting against Benedictine, JBU sophomore Baily Cameron scored 22 points and sophomore Preslea Reece scored eight straight in the fourth quarter and finished with 18. Kodee Powell scored 17 points. Soderquist said the first meeting isn't a complete wash because it was so long ago, but he added both teams are better.

Kristen Murphy scored 18 points to lead Benedictine in the season-opening loss.

"Just watching them from when we played them last time, I think both teams are a little bit better at what they do," Soderquist said. "He's added some things. We've added some things. So I think you can gain a little bit from it. It's a whole different ballgame too because it's early in the season."

John Brown was sent out to Montana in style on Monday morning with a send-off celebration at Bill George Arena. Athletics director Robyn Daugherty, JBU Vice President Steve Beers and Soderquist all spoke to the assembled crowd in the arena lobby and the team then departed for XNA.

"Yeah we're feeling excited and nervous," said junior guard Kimmy Deines. "Honestly all the emotions you can think of just because we've worked so hard this season. This is something that we've waited for. Even last year, we thought we could make it and we didn't."

JBU was scheduled to fly to Denver for a small layover before continuing on to Billings.

The goal for Monday, Soderquist said, was just to get to their destination.

They were scheduled to practice Tuesday morning at Rocky Mountain College and then attend a banquet with the other 31 teams in the tournament on Tuesday night.

"That's really exciting," Soderquist said. "It's always a fun time."

The Golden Eagles will practice again today and then attend a Champions of Character event associated with a United Way after-school program, where they'll spend time playing and reading with kids. The Champions of Character events are one of the requirements of teams who advance to the NAIA National Tournament.

On Wednesday night before the 8 p.m. game of the first-round of the NAIA Tournament, there will be a Parade of Champions at the arena where all the teams line up on the floor to spell out N-A-I-A.

Soderquist said JBU will likely have a shootout early on Thursday before getting ready to play Thursday evening.

JBU is the fifth seed of the Liston bracket and is matched up with the Shawnee State (Ohio)-William Woods (Mo.) game, as the winners will play at 9 p.m. Friday (8 p.m. local time). The quarterfinals would be at 9 p.m. Saturday and the semifinals at 9 p.m. Monday.

Soderquist laughed when asked about how he instructed his team to pack for the trip.

"I just said 'Pack how much you believe,'" he said. "(Former JBU men's coach) John Sheehy, used to make the comment, 'You know how much you believe when you get to this point by how many pairs of underwear you pack.'"

Soderquist said this team is capable of making a run similar to what the 2013-14 team did when it advanced to the national semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Oklahoma City.

"I think we've got the makeup to make a run," he said. "Whether it's the NCAA Tournament or this tournament, it's all about matchups and how you're playing at the time. I think this group's got the ability to make a run."

Sports on 03/15/2017