LAKE CHARLES, LA. - As the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's basketball team (23-8, 11-3) prepares to take the floor for their first round game in the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Championship, they will look to someone that has been in this position before to guide them.
After arriving in Senatobia in the fall of 1996, Head Coach LaTaryl Williams developed into a star player for the Rangers. Williams was a part of a class that led NWCC to an overall record of 57-11 during their time at the college.
In his career at Northwest, Williams helped lead Northwest to the 1998 NJCAA Final Four earning several individual accolades along the way, including All-MACJC, All-Region 23, and All-NJCAA Tournament honors. Williams still remembers every moment of his tournament experience.
"It's fresh on my mind. The memories last a lifetime. The bond we built with our team still exists today," Williams said.
The Ranger group chat that Williams and his teammates are in has seen an uptick in activity since Northwest won the Region 23 Championship and cemented their spot in the NJCAA DI Women's Basketball National Championship.
"My teammates have been reaching out to me. Congratulating me," Williams said with a smile. "They have just been talking about how proud they are of me and how coming back here as a coach is just bringing back old memories that we had. It's something that is really exciting to relive."
Post-season in any sport is a different type of beast. It is something that teaches you lessons that you can only learn if you experience it yourself. The biggest lesson Williams learned was that your past success or failures do not matter in a do-or-die scenario.
"The success you had in the regular season, your rankings, and your record, all that stuff is irrelevant," Williams said. "It doesn't matter because once you get to this stage, everybody's good. You just got to go out there and hope that you play your best game on that day."
Northwest is coming into the tournament seeded #23 out of 24 teams. However, Coach Williams knows better than anyone that anything can happen in post-season play. He has experienced some of that Cinderella post-season magic himself.
"My sophomore year we had a low seeding very similar to what our ladies have this year. Our first round game was against the #2 team in the country with a 33-0 record, Allegany Community College, and Steve Francis, an NBA all star, was on that team," Williams reminisced. "We beat them very convincingly."
Being lucky enough to be back in this position as a coach of the same school you graduated from is something that Williams is not taking for granted.
"It gives me a sense of pride," Williams said. "I'm not sure what other coaches have been able to do this, being able to win a Region 23 Championship as a player, making it to the national tournament. Then, to do it again as a coach, at the same school, means a lot to me personally."
Coach Williams hopes his team realizes the magnitude of what they have accomplished and what they can continue to accomplish this week.
"Really take advantage of the moment and do it as a group, as a family," Williams said. "That's one thing I'm trying to instill into our players. Don't take this for granted. This is a special time enjoy it and just make the most of it."
Having arrived in Lake Charles on Sunday, Northwest is anxious to finally hit the ground running and play.
"Watching them shoot around and practice last night at the facility, I can just tell that they're eager and they're ready to get out there and play," Coach Williams said. "I see the excitement in them every time we get on that bus."
- Article credit Mary Grace Black, nwccrangers.com
