The Lady Ravens finished up their regular season on Saturday with a win over Park University. They have secured themselves a spot in the Heart of America Conference Tournament.
The Lady Ravens finished the year with a 20-9 record, going 12-7 in conference play.
This mark led the Raven women to the third seed in the Heart of America South Division. They will face the Grandview Vikings, the second seed out of the Heart North, in their opening-round matchup.
These two teams met in the regular season back on Jan. 16 in Des Moines, Iowa. Grandview defeated a shorthanded Ravens team 87-66. Natalie Smaron, senior, reflected on that matchup as they prepare for Thursday.
“We struggled with their press last time as well, but we will go over it this week and will have a new plan of attack to break it. It is nice that we have more than just a day to prepare for them, so that will help us out a lot,” Smaron said.
The Lady Ravens struggled on the road this year, finishing with a record of 7-6 . Grandview is 14-0 in their home gym.
Smaron commented on how veteran presence for the Raven women might help to play a role in this matchup, as well as a deep tournament run.
“The experience that our team has is definitely a huge benefit for us. Each one of us has been here before and knows how hard we have to push to win,” the senior said.
The Lady Ravens look to lean on their experience and approach headed into the pinnacle moment of their season.
“This is the part of the season that gets fun because in order to keep playing, we have to keep winning. No one knows when our last game will be, so we have to go out and play hard and leave it all on the court,” Smaron said.
The dream of a conference title for the Raven women begins in Des Moines on Thursday night. The semifinals take place on Saturday and the championship game is on Tuesday. For updates on the tournament, visit this link.
