By Logan Bronkema
The Indiana Wesleyan University women’s basketball team has been seeded No. 1 in the NAIA polls for the past 30 weeks. This is now an ongoing record for the Wildcats.
IWU’s record currently stands at 26-1. The Wildcats are energized after coming off an exciting win against No. 3 ranked St. Francis.
According to Emma Stahl (so), this year’s Wildcats “have a little bit different of a style with the same concepts and fundamentals. We really lean on our defense, which has always been a tradition with coach Brooks, but I think we are a little faster than last year and not as big, so we really look to push the ball up the floor.
“It’s an honor to be at the top of the rankings, but it also gives us a target, so we have to come out every game and forget about the rankings and just play our game.”
Players mentioned that the rankings don’t mean a lot to them since their main priority is winning one game at a time.
“Coach [Brooks] never talks about us being No. 1,” Sarah Hagey (fr) said.
The players said they need to maintain their level of play going to the postseason in order to avoid a disappointment.
“Coach has said that February is not the month to lose. With every game we win, it’s one more game we get to play with our seniors,” Jess Brown (fr) said.
With the leadership that Claire Rey (sr) and Paige Smith (sr) exemplify, the team isn’t quite ready to say goodbye.
In order to make sure that they make it past conference to nationals in Sioux City, Iowa, the Wildcats say they must take it one game at a time.
“Even though we are under a lot of pressure, we look forward to the challenges and fun times that lie ahead,” Brown said.
If the Wildcats are seeded No. 1 in the conference tournament, all games will be held at Luckey Arena. If they win conference, they will have an automatic bid to Nationals.

