Women's Basketball Team Faces Tall Task

By Dan Gorenstein on Tuesday, March 6, 2007.

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Tomorrow the New Hampshire Technical Institute women's basketball team plays in a national tournament in Oklahoma.

As a two year school- the Lady Capitals face the tall task of competing against teams that have worked together for four.

The Lady Capitals will be the first to admit they are big underdogs headed into the playoffs.

But New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports the women believe playing stronger, faster and better financed teams would make winning that much sweeter.

Sfx: basketball practice

With only a few days before the tournament, the Lady Capitals couldnâ€™t run a full practice last week.

Not enough players showed up.

The short-handed session didn't faze New Hampshire Technical Institute head coach Shelley Winters.

She says she has to be creative.

T.9
:38 if we have eight or nine my assistant coach or I will jump...being a female, more times than not, I will jump in...otherwise we try to modify our practice plans dependent on the day. 5 on zero, or three on three, four on four, depending on who is available.

Winters played Division I basketball in college.

And she says her team doesn't have the same luxuries she remembers as a player at a four year school.

The coach says she and her teammates at Marist College could schedule school, work and family around basketball.

That's impossible at NHTI.

T.9
3:46 we have several players who try to work about 20-30 hours a week to pay tuition, just to be here. Several who have nieces, nephews, or younger siblings they have to baby sit, and they can't get out of. It's an obligation, that they have to step up to the plate at home to make everything else line up to be here.

NHTI athletic director, and men's basketball coach Paul Hogan says student-athletes often come to the school for one of a few reasons.

They want to either improve their athletic skills, or their grades or they can't afford more expensive schools.

As a consequence, many athletes look to two-year schools like NHTI as a stepping stone to achieve their dreams.

While that plan might be great for the individual, Hogan says it leaves teams vulnerable.

T.7
13:02 there's advantages to having a four year school b/c you are going to have more kids who played for four years, physically more mature, mentally more mature...that's part of the challenge and excitement on our end...put our unit together so we can be a unit quickly and play at that highest level against all kinds of competition.

NHTI is part of the small school conference the United States Collegiate Athletic Association- a collection of 40-some schools with fewer than 1500 students.

USCAA Commissioner Bill Casto says Men's basketball is primarily divided into two divisions, one for four year schools, the other for two year schools.

But Casto says there aren't enough women's teams to do that.

As a result, the Lady Capitals will likely face teams from four year colleges.

28:02 is it tough for an NHTI, or a school like them who only has their girls for two years, and maybe some of those issues? If they go out and win that tournament, you should go and erect statues of them.

The Lady Capitals are one of 12 schools that will play in the USCAA championship tournament this week.

Despite a strong season, the Lady Capitals are seeded 11th out of 12 teams.

That ranking has a lot to do with the strength of the team's schedule.

When NHTI played bad teams they won.

But the Lady Capitals struggled with the top teams.

Forward Jen Roy remembers playing the the Apprentice School's Lady Builders from Virginia.

T.1
2:27 they have a lot of really good athletes. They had big people, little guards, they pushed the ball up quicker than even we could turn around. They had layup, after layup...they ended up beating us by 60 points, and it could have even been more if they played all their starters...they were very good athletes on that team.

NHTI forward Christen Peak played in the tournament last season.

Peak knows what she will tell her teammates about what she learned.

T.4
1:11 expect a lot of talent. Expect more fast-paced game. Bigger girls...its' nothing like what we usually play in our conference. We usually play one or two teams that are as good as the teams we face out there.

T.1
7:30 we are the underdog, so there is nothing to lose.

Again forward Jen Roy.

....The only thing we are going to do is go there and win. We are expecting to go there and have fun...if we win that's awesome, but if we don't we aren't going to be put down or anything like that.

Roy says if the Lady Capitals had the best game of their lives, she believes they could win.

And if they did pull it off maybe someone will build a statute.

For NHPR News, I'm DG.