Page 9 - Laker Connection Fall 2011

Coach Cox and Clayton State Athletic Director Mason Barfield
After blowing out Montevallo in the first round, they returned to USC Aiken for a rematch with the 12th-ranked Pacers... and lost by a point, 73-72 in overtime.
“The turning point of the season, and the reason I believe that we domi-
nated in the NCAA tournament and won the national title, was the loss that we suffered at the hands of conference rival USC-Aiken in the semifinal round of the Peach Belt Conference tournament,” says Cox. “Up to that point, we were rid- ing the crest of a wave that was getting bigger and bigger with each win. It was indeed a battle and with seconds to go in the game we missed two shots right at the basket that would have won it, but missed both, forcing overtime. We lost by a point in the first overtime period.”
Although the loss was, in Cox’ words, “devastating,” the season was hardly over, since the Lakers were still ranked first in the southeast region and, as such, would host the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, with the winner of the regional advancing to the Elite
Eight. However, this wasn’t just a loss. “I’ve never seen a team take a loss as hard as we did that one,” he says. “It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen in all my years of coaching. I was very worried, and the crazy thing was, I was no better than them. Something was
wrong with the team.
“I went in to see Mason Barfield, our
athletic director and my boss, and I closed the door and told him what was going on and how concerned I was for us. In his wisdom, he suggested that what we had experienced in going un- defeated throughout the entire regular season was an unbelievably special thing and what we were probably feeling was a sense of loss because that special thing had ended. And the way it ended only made it worse. That made sense to me, and I immediately felt better – I think because, if for no other reason, I at least understood what we were feeling.”
Cox brought the team together, and explained Barfield’s theory.
Supporting the Lakers: While pursuing the national title, the Lakers made some new fans at Missouri’s Ellwood Middle School. The team mentored the students and, in return, the students came out to support the Lakers, cheering them on to victory during the championship game.
SPRING 2011 7
The Clayton State Univer- sity women’s basketball team, in honor of their winning the national championship, were rec- ognized for that achieve- ment at the Awards and Induction Ceremony for the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame, held on Saturday, June 25, at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.
AWARD WINNING TEAM