The women’s basketball team wrapped up their season on Feb. 21 with a close loss to Willamette University. Despite the Boxer’s record of nine wins and 16 losses, Coach Sharon Rissmiller thought the season went really well.
She said she recently looked at a piece of film from the beginning of the season and noticed the team has dramatically improved. She hopes the increase in performance is derived from the new JV program.
Rissmiller said the program helps girls gain valuable experience in order to move on to the next level.
“It’s frustrating,” Rissmiller said. “People only look at the win-loss record an it’s more complex than that. We are in the toughest conference at the Division III level.”
Senior Nani Ostrom said that although the team lost the majority of their games, most of the games were lost in single-digits.
“Most people don’t see how close our losses are,” Ostrom said. “We really fought and I’m proud of that.”
Rissmiller added that the team had great comradery over the season and acknowledged its wealth of talent.
As the season came to a close, Ostrom became the third leading scorer on the Pacific roster. She had an impressive performance that went beyond the three-point arc; she finished as the conference leader in three-point percentage and placed 19th nationally in the category with a 42.1-percent clip. The Second Team All-Northwest Conference also recognized her. Senior Olivia Cook received honorable mention by the Second Team All-NWC as well.
“It feels pretty awesome,” Ostrom said. “I definitely wasn’t expecting it at all.”
The award was the first time in Ostrom’s career that she recieved post-season honors.
Sophomore Sarah Curl claimed part of the spotlight as well. She was nominated to be the Bennett Rank Division III Gem of the Year.
Ostrom said she was very proud of her teammates.
“Eight years ago, Pacific would have been ranked second or third in our conference but the level of play has increased since then,” Rissmiller said.
Although the season has come to an end, Rissmiller has already started recruiting for the 2016 season.
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