2000-01 Guilford Women's Basketball Season in Review

What a difference a year made for Guilford’s women’s basketball team.

In 1999-2000, the Quakers enjoyed one of their best seasons in school history despite playing most of the year with just seven healthy players. Guilford won 19 games, reached the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament semifinals for the sixth time in seven years, and placed two players on all-conference teams, including forward Arden Miller, the league’s Player of the Year.

Thanks to aggressive recruiting by head coach Barb Bausch (right), the ODAC’s 1999-00 Coach of the Year, and her assistant, Chris Kosiba ’97, the Quakers’ 2000-01 roster featured 14 players, including nine first-year students. The league’s coaches picked Guilford third in their preseason poll, but Bausch knew early on this team had the mettle to win the school’s first ODAC women’s basketball crown. She was right as Guilford won the ODAC Tournament and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Quakers’ season ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to Hardin-Simmons College of Abilene, Texas.

Guilford lived up to Bausch’s expectations and to those of Miller, a fifth-year senior and one of five returning letter winners. An honorable mention All-American and the nation’s 10^th-leading scorer last season, she overcame three knee surgeries and took on a second academic major to compete for the elusive ODAC title.

Guilford’s opponents knew of Miller’s abilities as well as those of junior guards Amy Evans and Erin Beacham, but the rest of the bench often proved mysterious. Bausch credits much of her team’s success to the newcomers’ ability to perform when called. Twelve of the club’s 14 players scored at least 10 points in a game and eight players led the Quakers in scoring in different games.

After opening with wins in three of its first four games, Guilford played in a pre-Christmas tournament in Las Vegas with top teams from other parts of the country. The trip proved educational for the young club. Not only did the Quakers see the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam and many other Las Vegas sights, but they learned a lesson in the gym as well.

"We saw of new level of competition in Vegas," Bausch said. "We learned from that experience and worked on raising our level over the rest of the season."

The efforts paid off as Guilford opened the second semester with six straight wins and victories in 10 of their first 11 games after the break. After a pair of solid road wins at Randolph-Macon and Virginia Wesleyan, the Quakers declared themselves ready for an ODAC title run with back-to-back victories over preseason league favorite Bridgewater and Roanoke, the defending ODAC champs. Guilford’s 76-70 win over Roanoke marked the program’s first over the Maroons in Salem, VA, in school history.

Guilford closed out the regular season with wins in four of its last five games. Only a thrilling 56-55 loss to Roanoke prevented the Quakers from securing a perfect home record. The seniors made their final regular-season home appearance in a 55-42 win over Emory & Henry that secured the second seed for the ODAC Tournament.

As Guilford prepped for the conference tournament, Bausch and Kosiba exhorted Miller to play like she did last season when she led the team in scoring in 17 of 26 games. While Miller earned second-team All-ODAC laurels and enjoyed a solid season, the coaches knew Guilford would need more from the program’s 14^th 1,000-point scorer in the final weeks of her career.

"Arden’s strength is scoring and rebounding," Bausch said. The coach called Miller the player most affected by the Quakers’ increased depth and challenged her to help the team by focusing more on herself. "I reminded her that the conference title is what she was here for and that she needed to play like she did last year."

Miller responded with 59 points and 27 rebounds in three games and captured the ODAC Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award (above). She scored 21 points, including the go-ahead basket with 37 seconds left, in Guilford’s 72-68 quarterfinal win over Lynchburg. Miller posted back-to-back double doubles in wins over Roanoke and Emory & Henry in the ODAC semifinal and final, respectively.

Miller continued her strong play into Guilford’s first NCAA Tournament appearance with 15 points and a season-high 14 boards in the Quakers’ 80-57 first-round win over Meredith. Beacham tossed in a game-high 16 points and freshman Jennie Keichline added 11 first-half points off the bench as Guilford thrilled 980 raucous fans in the Ragan-Brown Field House (right).

Despite Miller’s fourth straight double double, the Quakers’ season ended three days later with a 106-77 loss at Hardin-Simmons, the South region’s top seed. The Cowgirls earned their third straight trip to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and showed Guilford yet another competitive level to which it can aspire.