I’ve only seen the smallest sliver of Division III women’s basketball history over the last 13 years but I’ve had the opportunity to see some of the best players in the country, after covering the NCAA Tournament in-person for this publication on five separate occasions.
The sport has grown tremendously since I was a college freshman back in 1993 and the players of today have benefited from the play of their predecessors. I don’t know that the players from farther back will get their proper due (I hope there are people out there who remember and appreciate them), but I can speak to the successes of those I’ve seen play the game, and welcome the thoughts of others who wish to comment. If I were to fill out a ballot for the players on this NCAA 25th Anniversary team, I would list…
Allison Coleman (Eastern Connecticut State) Coleman was the driving force behind the unlikeliest, most amazing run through the NCAA Tournament that I’ve seen, leading the Warriors to the runner-up finish in 2003. Coleman was an excellent scorer, rebounder, passer and defender who was at her best when her team needed her most, similar in nature to Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi. In the national semifinals, Coleman, playing with four fouls, rallied her team from a 14-point second-half deficit against a heavily favored No. 1 ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire to win in overtime, then nearly duplicated the feat the next day in the title game, when Eastern’s comeback from 17 down against Trinity (Texas) came up two points short.
Tasha Rodgers (Washington U of St. Louis) Rodgers had the best performance of any player in the five national championship games I’ve seen, a 36-points, 13 rebounds, six steals effort against Messiah in the 2001 title game. Not bad the finale for a four-time NCAA champ. The game story that day described her as unstoppable, and she was, whether it was in the open floor (creating off a turnover) or in halfcourt, driving to the basket. That’s enough to earn my vote.
Alia Fischer (Washington U of St Louis) When I was sideline reporter for our championship game broadcasts a few years ago, I interviewed both the Rodgers family (sitting in the very last row of the stands in Danbury, out of nervousness), and Alia Fischer’s mom, who delivered one of my favorite one-liners from any event I’ve covered in 13 years as a journalist. When I asked if there was anything I should know about Fischer, a dominant center capable of consistently hitting hook shots with either hand, her mom replied “Can I tell you how she was a klutz?”
Corinne Carson (Marymount) I saw Carson twice during the 1996-97 season, when my alma mater took on Marymount, first in regular-season play and then in the NCAA Tournament. She’s the one player whose skills made me sit back and simply say “Wow!” Carson, who overcame significant health issues, was intimidating on both ends of the floor. On defense, she totally destroyed the confidence of opposing shooters by powerfully blocking shots. Offensively she had such a repertoire of moves, that one basket/foul sequence prompted my broadcast partner at the NCAA game to compare her to NBA legend Earl “The Pearl Monroe.”
Ronda Jo Miller (Gallaudet) I wish I had the chance to see Miller and Carson’s head-to-head matchups, because they must have been amazing (I believe Miller was a freshman when Carson was a senior). From the one game I saw, Miller left quite an impression- 38 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots worth- and she made it look so easy that day, in the second round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament against The College of New Jersey. Miller totally owned the floor on both ends, whether it was with Carson-like shot blocking, coast-to-coast steal/basket combinations or moves in the paint. Miller was so perfect that day that one of the beat writers yelled out, to no one in particular “She’s Keith Van Horn!”
Feel free to share your thoughts on those players you voted for, and feel free to come up with a write-in candidate or two as well. Perhaps I’ll address my coach selection at another time…