The nightcap down in Rochester of course was the National Championship game that featured upstart and #7 seed Northland Community and Technical College out of Thief River Falls going up against #1 seed Rock Valley College out of Rockford, Illinois. The Pioneers started this journey by pulling off a huge upset in the first round on Thursday night by knocking off #2 seed Onondaga out of New York and then got into the championship game by knocking off conference rival Anoka-Ramsey on Friday night; gaining a measure of revenge on the Golden Rams. Rock Valley meanwhile methodically rolled its way to the championship tilt by easily disposing Massacoit on Thursday night in the first round and then beating a very good Brookdale team out of New Jersey on Friday night. The Golden Eagles would be heavy favorites in this one as they were the two-time defending national champions and were looking to make a three-peat.
Rock Valley would soon find out, though, that wearing that proverbial target on your back does come with a hefty price tag and Northland was up for the challenge. A score in the paint by sophomore guard Jenna Lundon at the 19:51 mark and a jumper from the right wing by fellow sophomore guard Ashley Lindgren at the 18:44 mark had the Pioneers quickly up 4-0 before two treys from the Golden Eagles righted the ship and had Rock Valley up 6-4 by the 17:37 mark. The Golden Eagles would maintain that slim advantage on two free throws from freshman guard Marquiesha Grant at the 16:18 mark for an 8-6 lead before Northland went back to work and proceeded to go on a 9-0 run that had Rock Valley on its heels. Freshman forward/post Crystal Amundson snared an offensive rebound for a putback at the 15:34 mark and then Lindgren connected with a jumper from the left wing at the 14:51 mark to put the Pioneers back out in front by a score of 10-8. Lundon then drained a "3" from the right top at the 13:56 mark and a pretty jumper in the lane by freshman Shammara Christian had Northland up 15-8. A jumper from the left wing by Lindgren at the 11:48 mark and a score in the paint by Amundson at the 11:23 mark along with one free throw by Amundson at the 11:01 mark helped maintain that seven-point edge at 20-13.
The Golden Eagels; fearing that their parade was going to be rained on, went to work and proceeded to go on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes as freshman guard Asia Jones grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback at the 10:42 mark and the Chicago native followed that up with a score in the paint with 9:16 left. Grant then uncorked a "3" from the left top area with 8:32 left that had the issue deadlocked at 20-all and things would stay tight over the next three minutes before Northland was able to open up some breathing room again. Two free throws by freshman reserve guard Bailey Jenkins with 5:14 left and a lay-up by Lindgren with 4:34 left gave the Pioneers a four-point 26-22 lead. Rock Valley scores by freshman guard Sam Rundblade with 3:53 left and freshman forward Yowana Posey with 3:01 left had the Golden Eagles close but Northland was able to respond. A one-handed shot by strong sophomore post Sarah Durand; who was making a name for herself by being a monster on the boards so far in this game, upped the Pioneers lead to five at 31-26. Rock Valley once again cut the lead to three on a jumper from the right corner inside the arc by sophomore guard Aleesha Cleaver with 2:22 left that should have kept things relatively tight by the halftime break. However, Northland's Lundon was fouled with 1:07 left that had the Pioneers in the bonus. The Waubun native put down the front end of the 1-and-1 but the back end attempt was errant. Durand, however, was right there to snare the rebound and promptly put back a jumper for a 34-28 Pioneer lead that greatly changed the complexion of things in this late stage of the first half. Durand also put down one more charity stripe attempt after getting fouled for a 35-28 Northland lead at the half and while Rock Valley was still certainly in this thing, they had their work cut out for them. Even more disconcerting from a Golden Eagle standpoint was how they were getting pounded on the glass in the first half as Northland enjoyed a sizable 26-16 advantage on the rebounding front and that was something that was going to have to change for Rock Valley if they wanted to be hoisting the trophy for the third time at the end of this one.
Rock Valley hoped to get off on the right foot once the second half got underway and a lay-up by freshman Shantiera Miller at the 19:22 mark drew the Golden Eagles to within five of Northland trailing 35-30. But the Pioneers responded with a 7-1 spurt over the next two minutes; fueled by a drive and finish by Durand at the 18:15 mark that now had Northland up by double digits at 42-31 by the 17:23 mark. A jumper by Jenkins from the right elbow at the 15:39 mark maintained the double digit cushion for a 44-34 lead. The one thing Rock Valley did have going for it was that they got into the bonus by the 12:58 mark but, once there, the Golden Eagles struggled mightily from the charity stripe; missing numerous attempts that would ultimately cost them. Northland, meanwhile, was much more efficient at the line and the Pioneers freshman reserve forward Danielle Hernandez got a chance to put three down when she was fouled from behind the arc while launching a three-point attempt at the 12:17 mark. The West St. Paul native only got two out of the three attempts to go down but it still had Northland up by ten at 46-36 and the Golden Eagles could ill-afford to mess around anymore.
Rock Valley finally started making some inroads on the Pioneer cushion just before the midway point. Cleaver, the accomplished three-point sharpshooter from Dakota, Illinois drilled one from the top of the key at the 11:21 mark and a lay-up by Rundblade at the 10:42 mark cut the Northland lead down to five at 46-41. A Cleaver lay-up at the 10:03 mark kept the deficit manageable at five; trailing 48-43. Being that the Golden Eagles were already in the bonus and that there was a mountain of time left, you would think that Rock Valley would take advantage of this at the charity stripe. Unfortunately, in all the trips the Golden Eagles took to the line in the second half, they shot a miserable 7/16 for only 43.8% which simply is not going to get the job done; particularly in a championship game-type setting. And give credit to Northland here, especially when Rock Valley started bringing some full-court pressure with just under 9:00 left. They could have panicked and turned the ball over but they kept their cool and kept forging ahead. Durand sank two free throws after getting fouled with 7:14 left and despite Rock Valley's freshman guard Ashley Seaton drilling a "3" from the top of the key with 6:58 left, the Pioneers calmly responded as Amundson scored in the paint with 5:43 left for a 54-47 advantage. Two Amundson freebies with 5:20 left upped the lead back to nine at 56-47. Two Rock Valley lay-ups by Grant and Jones once again cut Northland's lead to five at 56-51 but a Christian offensive rebound and putback with 4:11 left had the Pioneers back up by seven at 58-51 and Rock Valley Head Coach Misty Opat, knowing full and well that her team was entering the danger zone, called a timeout.
Northland's Durand was able to score in the paint off of a pretty inbounds pass for a 60-51 lead with 3:26 left that put the Golden Eagles in further doo-doo but Rock Valley had one last gasp in them that allowed them to get close again. A 4-0 burst fueled by a Grant lay-up with 1:34 left got the Golden Eagles to within five again trailing 60-55. A Cleaver "3" from the top of the key with 1:11 left helped Rock Valley draw even closer trailing 62-58 and a Grant lay-up with :53.5 left finally had the Golden Eagles within one possession trailing 63-60. Another Rock Valley timeout followed to set-up strategy but at the critical moments, they simply could not get that one stop or steal that may have given them a chance to tie things up. And Northland, when things were nerve-wracking toward the end, made the most of their chances at the charity stripe when the Golden Eagles were forced to foul. Jenkins, Christian and Hernandez knocked free throws for the Pioneers in the waning seconds and the Northland team celebrated unabashedly when the final buzzer sounded as the Pioneers had done the seemingly impossible in claiming the Division III National Championship with a 69-60 victory.
Northland Head Coach and former Minnesota standout Shannon (Bolden) Nelson and assistant coach Mandy Crittenden were full of glee after doing what many (including yours truly) did not ever expect them to do after hoisting the National Championship trophy. I asked Nelson afterward what it was like for this team; coming into this National Tournament as the #7 seed. "We came in here with a chip on our shoulder when we learned we were the #7 seed" admitted Nelson but she also admitted that her squad was determined and ready to make the most of their opportunity as well. Nelson was also proud of how her team hung tough when Rock Valley made inroads on the Northland advantage late and started applying full-court pressure. "I just told our team to stay calm; stay composed" said Nelson and she made mention as well on how her team made the most when it got to the free throw line as the Pioneers are the number one free throw shooting team in the nation at the NJCAA Division III level. When I asked her how important this championship was for this Northland program going forward she couldn't help but gush with pride. "We just want to continue to improve and get better and help make our players better so that they can have a chance at a four-year school afterward." I'll admit, I never in my wildest dreams thought Northland could come in here and win the whole ball of wax with programs who had won this thing before such as Rock Valley, Onondaga, and conference rival Anoka-Ramsey. And even I knew that Northland was a good team on its way up after I covered their game with Anoka-Ramsey back in early December that Anoka-Ramsey won 72-60. But, as Anoka-Ramsey Head Coach David DeWitt told me during the Championship Game on this night, "It doesn't matter what happened back in November or December." And so the Pioneers are taking the National Championship trophy and accolades back home to Thief River Falls. More importantly, it now also appears that there is a new bully in the MCAC conference in Northland as well.
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