D3hoops.com: Notables

By Gordon Mann
D3hoops.com

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- With two minutes left in the NCAA tournament sectional final, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets trailed top ranked Hope 49-47 in what had already been a great season for them.

They had won the American Southwest Conference championship, finished an undefeated regular season and reached the Elite Eight, farther than any previous team. Losing to the number one team in the country would have been nothing to be ashamed of. The thousands of fans in the Brownwood Coliseum would’ve been disappointed but still supported their Jackets. Looking up at those fans, hundreds of them wore a navy blue and yellow shirt with simple phrase.

“Finish it.”

For senior Meia Daniels, “it” all started when HPU assistant coach Kelly Kielsmeir saw the Fossil Ridge High School star play basketball. Kelly’s report back to his brother, Howard Payne head coach Chris Kielsmeir, was that Daniels was great, so great that HPU had no shot at landing the prized recruit.

“We always motivate each other by telling each other that we have a shot at everybody,” recalls Chris Kielsmeir, “even though we know that’s obviously not true.” And so Chris convinced his younger brother to follow up with Daniels. Daniels made her college decision late and informed the Kielsmeirs even later. They found out she was coming to Brownwood when they read it in an All-Star game media guide. The following fall Kielsmeir met his star-to-be for the first time at the local Chile’s restaurant without having seen her play yet.

Stacey Blalock had a similar route to Howard Payne. Kelly Kielsmeir attended a basketball showcase in Kansas City looking for any Texas players that should be on Howard Payne’s radar. He found a 6-2 post player with a great outside shot, a rare treasure for Division III basketball.

Unlike Daniels, Chris Kielsmeir did meet Blalock before she matriculated at the university. He recruited her vigorously even though she, like Daniels, was a long shot to come to Howard Payne. “Any player that’s worth going after, that’s going to affect your program in a big way, is going to be hard,” observes Kielsmeier.

Daniels and Blalock have certainly affected Howard Payne basketball in a big way. As freshmen, they were reserves on an NCAA playoff team. As sophomores Daniels and Blalock played a bigger role, starting all 29 games. Either Daniels or Blalock was the team’s leading scorer in every game but one when Kimberly Hoffman, who is also a senior now, held the honor. The Yellow Jackets went one step farther in the NCAA tournament that year, defeating Trinity (Texas) before bowing out to conference rival Hardin-Simmons in the second round.

Last season Daniels, Blalock and company enjoyed even more success. The Yellow Jackets were the last team to pick up a loss in 2006-07, a 61-60 defeat to ranked rival McMurry. The Yellow Jackets rolled over Chapman 76-37 in the second round of the NCAA tournament but fell flat in the sectional semifinals against Puget Sound. Howard Payne shot a dismal 26.7 percent and was eliminated by the Loggers, 47-44. Daniels scored 12 points but missed all six three-point attempts. Blalock scored 16 but fouled out and shot
4-for-17 from the field.

Howard Payne carried the sour taste of that loss into this season with a renewed focus. “We had no margin for error. We had to run the table,” Kielsmeir says. His team did just that, including four straight wins against Hardin-Simmons and Top 25 ranked McMurry in home-and-home weekends with the Abilene, Texas, teams.

Along the way, Daniels and Blalock have developed their skills. Daniels started at small forward for two seasons and played back-up point guard for three before shifting to starting point guard this season. The reserve experience has served her well. In the sectional semifinals, Howard Payne faced a DeSales team that thrives on generating turnovers and transition baskets. Daniels weaved her way through the Bulldogs’ press with her smooth ball handling skills, negating the pressure and scoring 21 points.

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Blalock has developed from a player who, according to Kielsmeir, was “athletic but didn’t like contact” into a player who will grab hard-fought rebounds and score in the post. She’s still got a great outside shot and shoots 36.4 percent from three-point land, second only to Daniels. Blalock poured in 23 points against DeSales and the Yellow Jackets rolled into the sectional finals, 69-42.

Along with their individual success, Daniels and Blalock have kept the Yellow Jackets’ younger players focused despite the potential for pressure and distractions associated with an undefeated season. “Both have developed mentally as leaders,” Kielsmeir says. “They both know how important it is to set good examples for younger players all the time.” They and fellow senior Hoffman are pivotal to the Yellow Jackets’ match-up zone defense that denies opponents good looks. “Finish it,” Kielsmeir yells at his team, imploring them to tighten their focus and not give up an easy shot at the end of a possession.

Sophomore Hope Hohertz liked the phrase so much she designed a t-shirt with the phrase on it. At first there were 50 fans wearing “finish it” on their chest. By Saturday’s showdown with fellow unbeaten Hope, there were several hundred.

Which brings us back to last Saturday night when Howard Payne trailed the Flying Dutch 47-46 with less than two minutes left. Daniels, who had already scored 33 points, took a pass from Hoffman and drilled her sixth three-pointer of the game to give Howard Payne a one-point lead.

Then, after a Hohertz block on Hope’s next possession, Daniels dribbled the ball behind the three-point line and caught everyone off guard with a beautiful lob pass over the top of the defense to a cutting Hohertz. Hope (the player)
scored the layup and effectively put the game of reach for Hope (the team). The Yellow Jackets wrapped up the 53-49 victory and their first trip to the Final Four.

So the Yellow Jackets’ remarkable season continues to Holland, Mich. They are the only undefeated team left on either side of Division III basketball. Their seniors have already accomplished so much. And they will try to maintain that focus for two more games and complete this run with a national championship.

Two more wins and just two words. “Finish it.”