For Southwest Missouri State, Respect Has to Come in Degrees

There was a sea of placards being waved by the more than 1,000 fans in the Southwest Missouri State cheering section, and most of the signs read “RESPECT.”

That’s what the folks from Springfield, Mo., wanted from a Sports Arena crowd and a national television audience for their school. That, too, was the goal of Coach Cheryl Burnett.

“Sure we thought we could win it all,” Burnett said after an 84-72 loss to Western Kentucky in the opening game of the semifinal round of the Women’s Final Four. “Why not dream the big dream?”

Somewhere among the turnovers (29, with 18 of them in the first half), missed layups, some tough luck on shots and fouls, the dream turned into a bit of a nightmare.

And Burnett isn’t quite sure what went wrong. “I was satisfied with our preparation,” she said. “We knew what they were going to do. We practiced well, and we have seen the full-court pressure Western Kentucky used against us. Iowa (had) used it against us.”

But after leading, 8-2, the Bears scored five points in an 11-minute span under relentless full-court pressure and fell behind, 25-13. They trailed, 33-25, at halftime.

“This was the worst first half of the season,” Burnett said. “Western Kentucky’s pressure and athleticism took us out of our offense. Western Kentucky has a similar defense to ours. We couldn’t get away from the on-the-ball press.

“Our smaller players had to look beyond their bigger players. We got some layups, but most of the time we were on the perimeter, with our back to the basket. They had better athletes and bigger athletes, which pushed us farther out of our offense than we’ve been all year.”

With 13:40 to play, Western Kentucky led, 52-34. It looked like a rout was on.

But Southwest Missouri scored 11 consecutive points to close the gap to 52-45 with 10 minutes to play. And when 6-foot-4 junior Paulette Monroe became the fourth Hilltopper to foul out, it appeared that the momentum had shifted. The score was 56-49, and there were still eight minutes to go.

Burnett sensed victory. “It was happening,” she said. “I could see it happening.”

But it didn’t. “We just could not hit the big shot. Then we started fouling the shooter and, even worse, fouling them on the dribble. That killed us.”

Even in defeat, Burnett says part of her goal was achieved, and along with it a measure of respect.

Complete respect, according to Burnett, comes when you are successful on a consistent basis.

“We’re proud of being part of the Final Four,” she said. “It’s a historical level for a program to be part of the Final Four. Now we understand what’s it’s like, being here. But now you’re not just satisfied with being part of it. You want to keep going. We want to get better and better on a national level.”

Senior forward Karen Rapier said advancing to the Final Four “was one of the most exciting events of my life.”

Burnett said that she issued a challenge to her underclassmen to bring the program that extra step. She said she expects many players to be back working in the weight room next week.

One of them--sophomore Melody Howard, the team’s leading scorer at 14.5 points--might get an even quicker start.

“Melody Howard realized her contributions today (nine points on one-for-eight shooting) weren’t as great as in the past,” Burnett said. “She’s the kind of player who will probably try to shoot baskets in the hotel tonight. Today will be a motivation for her.”