A lesson worth learning: show up
By Kyle Ringo
The Metropolitan
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall ...
They snickered at defeat only one night before, then promptly had their noses rubbed in a shocking 75-71 overtime loss Feb. 7 at Colorado Christian University.
Considering the Metro womenâs basketball team had never lost a game to CCU (16-6, 11-4) in 17 previous contests, it made sense for the Roadrunners to expect a win. But it is nonsensical to assume victory by default or to think that by gracing the other team with your mere presence victory is assured, not just expected.
And the Roadrunnersâ 23-point drubbing of the Cougars at the Auraria Events Center earlier this season probably added to those expectations.
But because of those fraudulent thoughts from a team cocky enough to be
talking about a trip to the national tournament two weeks before its regular season ends, the Metro womenâs basketball team is the Green Bay Packers of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
It is a team talking the talk while walking in place.
You thought Metro (18-4, 13-2) might have learned its lesson one night before the loss to Christian when it let a beleaguered Regis team (11-11, 8-7) hang around with a chance to win with as little as 7 minutes left in the game.
Coach Darryl Smith then called a timeout and verbally assaulted his team with his Nick Nolte vocal cords, espousing something to the effect of ăYou have 7 minutes left to win the (expletive) basketball game.
ăDo you want to play some basketball now?ä
The Roadrunners responded and won but let the Cougars maul them the next day. This time, the most ferocious Smith tirade couldnât wake the Roadrunners long enough for the team to recapture the lead, keep it and win the game.
Instead, the Roadrunners tied it, after trailing by 15 at one point, and sent the game into an extra period where they fell back to sleep.
There are several explanations for the loss. Leaving Christian players all alone for uncontested layups is just one of them. Maybe the team got distracted by the Christian fans unfurling a giant paper banner that read, ăSit down, Darryl.ä
But the worst, the one thought not possible in a take-them-one-game-at-a-time-cliché-filled-age in sports, is the most true.
Metro overlooked two teams on back-to-back nights.
ăMaybe we thought these two games would be easy wins,ä junior forward Danielle Stott said. ăI donât know what we thought.ä
They were thinking about Nebraska-Kearney.
Kearney, the only RMAC team to beat Metro before CCU, is the next opponent Feb. 13 at Auraria Events Center at 5 p.m. The Roadrunners had revenge on their minds ÷ for an embarrassing 25-point loss to Kearney earlier this season ÷ one week before revenge mattered. Now it doesnât.
Revenge is too pitiful to motivate Metro for what it is really playing for now ÷ its season.
The Roadrunners canât afford to lose another game this season. Any defeat could knock them from the regional rankings where they are currently fifth, which amazingly, is one spot better than a week ago.
Only the top six teams in the region move into the postseason. Metro canât afford to rely on the ranking committeeâs generosity again.
Winning the conference tournament or receiving enough votes to be ranked in the region are the only two ways to land a Regional Tournament spot, thereby justifying all the lofty predictions of postseason success.
So if Metro is going to make use of its post-season travel plans, arranged a week ago, it will have to do it the hard way.
Metro must beat Kearney and three other teams to finish the regular season, then beat Kearney again in the conference tournament, or at least fail to do so in the championship game.
Not before.
It might have been easier had the team been paying attention.
