1987 NCCAA Div II Champs

March 1987

This past weekend the 1987 national championship women's basketball team gathered at Moody Bible Institute to celebrate and reminisce.  I was a freshman on that team and actually have very little recollection of our championship run. Without the help of my teammates and coaches I couldn't have told you who we played in the championship game much less what the score was. (We played Philadelphia College of the Bible and we won by a wide margin after being down by 1 at the half.) About the only basketball related memory is our opponents confusion when we played our Deanna defense. We set up in a 1-2-2 and would either stay in it, switch to a 1-3-1 trap or match up in player defense. I don't think anyone ever figured out what we were doing, much less that it all depended on where the ball crossed half court.

I remember crazy things like our coach showing up at practice with genuine clown shoes and having us play volleyball for our last practice before leaving for nationals. I remember being told to stay out of the sun even though the Kentucky May-like weather in March was very appealing to us after a long Chicago winter. Coach didn't want the sun to sap our energy. I remember taking a 2 hour nap the afternoon of the championship game and for once not being groggy when I woke up. I remember not being able to sleep after the finals and staying up having fun with my teammates. I also remember the sense of satisfaction in having won a championship and yet being so thankful that we lived for something far more lasting and fulfilling. Without Jesus in our lives it would have been an empty satisfaction.

My teammates and coaches told many stories this weekend. It would take far too much space to tell them all and half of them would be like inside jokes unless you knew the personalities involved. There is also the story of how we had four coaches over the course of the year and the back story of how the team had gone from 0 and ___ in 1985 to being national champs in 1987. But what stood out to me was what an exceptional team we were. Not only did we have some exceptional talent for our level (National Christian College Athletic Association Division II) we also had an exceptional commitment to each other and to the game. I didn't realize it at the time but in retrospect I see it more clearly. This weekend Coach Hakes talked about how much we cared for each other. It didn't matter who he played when; there were never any hard feelings. All the way up and down the bench we did whatever would help the team. We not only practiced and played together but we genuinely enjoyed spending time together off the court. We sang and prayed together, and laughed and cried together. That commitment to each other is still there after all these years. We shot some hoops and told basketball stories but most of our conversations centered on the stories of God's faithfulness in the midst of the joys and sorrows of our lives. We've all decided that we will not wait for another 25 years before we get together again. And we will make sure we get more than a month notice so hopefully everyone can be there.

February 2012