Women’s Hoops Season a Test of Patience, Perseverance for Blazers
By Marco Santana
To call the women’s basketball season for Beacon College “trying” might be an understatement. Sure, the team finished the season with a tournament championship after rallying from a slow start. But if you watched the team in person, you would understand why: the team had exactly five players on their roster – until the last month of the season.
Head coach Mfon Udoka, however, kept the Lady Blazers on mission. “I don’t use that as an excuse,” she said. “The expectation is the same. I expect the same out of any player that plays: learn how to work through challenges because we all have challenges.”
Udoka used that message to lead the Blazers through their inaugural season, which ended with a 5-7 record — but securing the team’s first New South Atlantic tournament championship.
The challenge started on Day 1, when Udoka counted five players and wondered whether a sixth would show up. Throughout the season, the team, lacking reserves, had to cancel some games due to illness or injury. In fact, Beacon finished one game by playing seven minutes of 4-on-5 basketball. Fortunately, they were up by 20.
“They got to play a lot, who wouldn’t love that?” joked Udoka, who played parts of three seasons across seven years in the WNBA. While she would have preferred a larger roster, Udoka said she found positives in the situation.
With exactly five players, she could draw up strategies for each player and focus on their strengths. For instance, sophomore forward India Gultry can get to the basket, so Udoka drew up plays to get her there. “We couldn’t hide anything,” Udoka said. “Everyone had to pick up some slack. You have to fine-tune what you can do with five.”
Gultry said the team took some time to fully understand the challenge that was ahead of them. However, once they gelled, they settled into their roles. “We knew the circumstances and gave it all we got,” she said.
Gultry praised Udoka for implementing a rigorous offseason conditioning program that laid the foundation for the team’s late-season success. “We could have done what others expected us to do, which is not win and play poorly,” she said. “But she wouldn’t let us.”
As the season wore on, the team showed marked improvement as Udoka adjusted her approach, working her timeouts strategically and developing plays for her team. Reflecting on the season, Gultry expressed her hope that Beacon students would support the team and contribute to building its identity.
“Us working hard, playing and giving back to the school, it brings the school’s culture together,” she said. “It’s great to be part of something to where I helped bring basketball culture to a school that really didn’t have it.”
For forward Katie Kolaxis, success was a matter of accepting the team as it was constructed. “We were forced to get along with each other almost immediately,” she said. “But it wasn’t hard. I love the girls. We grew closer after ever game.”
Kolaxis, a shooter who can hit the three-pointer, admitted there were rough patches throughout the season when it came to meshing. But the freshman looks forward to returning for her second year after a summer of hard work on weak points of her game. “I want to still have my role on the team and let Coach know she can rely on me,” she said.
On multiple occasions, Udoka heard praise from opposing players and coaches as they walked off the court postgame. It’s a testament, she said, to the personal growth her players demonstrated across the entire season. A growth, she stressed, that she saw both on and off the court.
“Seeing someone get it, seeing the team execute a play properly, that is one of the biggest joys,” Udoka said. “But when you see them turn the corner and figure out good study methods, for instance, or just how to be a better student, it’s a beautiful thing, as well, because they learn something that can take them further in life.”
Athletics at Beacon
Our athletics options include opportunities in competitive conference sports and activities for every member of the Beacon community to play in our no-cost intramural sports programs. It’s a fun way to interact with other students, faculty, and staff while blowing off some steam.
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