Katie Gard said she was impressed by the newer players who have absorbed the team’s energy.
“Basketball comes with a purpose, but once we got into a groove, they picked up on our energy and that brought us together as a team,” she said. “We lost some important people last year, but the girls who came in didn’t miss a beat.”
And that may be what defined this season for the Titans. Bruce said there were games that didn’t fall easily into the win column.
“Those were times where we had adversity thrown at us. We drew a line in the sand and decided we were built for it, and we powered through those games,” he said.
For this year's seniors, last season’s heartbreaking loss during the NAIA finals in Montana was motivation to do even more this season.
“For five years, we’ve had teams that just came together and jelled. The people on this team have lived up to a standard we have established. I thought after last year, how could this year get any better? And then this happened,” Fisher said.
“It was almost like we started to prove something to ourselves when we started winning. I think that made it easier for all of us to realize this is a winning team,” Maddie Gard said.
The Titans were 24-0 going into the game against Saint Xavier University in February when they were handed their first and only loss of the regular season.
“I told them they’ve earned the right to cry whenever they get a loss. They’ve put in the time and the effort to be successful,” Bruce said, calling the team one of the best he’s seen.
“The last five years we’ve had great teams. Last year, we were 28-3. I didn’t think we’d ever have a team better than that. I thought we could be very good this year, but we’re better than we were last year. I’d rank them the best I’ve coached,” he said.
For the seniors, the success on the court is amplified by the sense of family they feel off the court. That is what Maddie Gard said she’ll miss after graduation. “I’m going to miss the opportunity to win every Wednesday and Saturday. I love getting together and being rowdy with them. When we’re doing what we need to be doing, there’s no better place to be,” she said. “This is our family that we come to after class and we have a closeness that we bring to each other,” Katie Gard said. “It’s such a great community of girls that you just can’t take away.” Bruce said that sense of community also helps the team balance work and play. “They know when to get down to business, but they have fun. It has to be fun. So, we try to walk that line all the time to get the right balance of everything. They are great teammates. It’s almost too good to be true,” he said. After making it to the second round of the NAIA National Tournament and ending with a 31-2 record this season, Bruce is optimistic about next year as the team replaces his veteran graduates. “We have a great freshman class coming in and a nucleus of players coming back. Winning has been embedded here. The team understands they have to carry the torch being left by our seniors and keep the momentum going,” Bruce said.
Read more about Coach Bruce’s IU South Bend career and hitting a 300-win milestone.
