Women's basketball: Lutz, Mathews having sweet success at EMU
By Tommy Keeler Jr.
Living the dream.
That's what two local standouts are doing these days as the Eastern Mennonite University women's basketball team is playing in the Division III NCAA Tournament "Sweet 16." Stonewall Jackson and Bridgewater College graduate Jason Lutz and Central graduate Stephanie Mathews are having the time of their lives with the Royals this season.
Lutz is an assistant coach with Eastern Mennonite while Mathews is the team's third-leading scorer and leading rebounder.
"It's like you always hear people say it really is a dream come true," Mathews said.
Eastern Mennonite (25-3) plays Hardin-Simmons (Texas) in the regional semifinals today at 6 p.m. in Stevens Point, Wisc. The winner will play again Saturday in the regional final against the winner of the other semifinal between Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Washington (Mo.).
Strange twist
Lutz had no intentions of coaching a women's college basketball team. Stonewall Jackson girls basketball coach Jeff Burner and his brother, Bobby, had tried to persuade Lutz to try for the assistant job at EMU but to no avail. Then things changed.
"I played in rec leagues in the county but outside of that I hadn't played since high school. Coaching-wise, I had no experience," Lutz said. "So I had pretty much written the idea off, and then a couple days later Stephanie called me. She said she had talked with some of the girls and they'd like me to try for the job."
So Lutz interviewed and got the job. EMU first-year head coach Richard McIlwee said Lutz was the first assistant he hired and the two hit if off really well.
"I knew Jason from when he played for Ron Smoot at Stonewall and from when he was at Bridgewater. I knew who he was but I didn't really know him," McIlwee said. "We have a lot of the same attributes. We both have a winning attitude and we're great competitors."
A new beginning
Once McIlwee had his staff in place the challenge was just beginning. McIlwee was the boys basketball coach at Bath County High School for 18 years and for two years at Auburn High School, but had no experience at the college level.
To make things more complicated, McIlwee was replacing Mike Dunavant, who had been fired due to an incident with one of the players.
McIlwee said he didn't talk to the players about the past incident and it was never brought up. Instead, the team focused on the future and winning basketball games.
"It took us a while to adjust to him and what he was trying to do," Mathews said. "Once we got to know him better, I think we really bought into what he was trying to do."
The Royals have only nine players this season — sometimes eight — but they continued to rack up the wins. They won 16 of their first 17 games using a balanced scoring attack led by Carrie Grandstaff (18 points per game) and Laura Ludholtz (17.0 ppg).
EMU tied Bridgewater for the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season title and then won the ODAC tournament to secure an NCAA berth.
"Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win the conference tournament. We didn't really think about making it to the NCAA Tournament or the 'Sweet 16,'" Mathews said. "It's crazy, it's so exciting."
Defensive standout
Mathews, a former Group A state Player of the Year, was known mostly for her offense in high school. She led Central to the Group A state title in 1996 and she is a vital part of the Royals' offense this season, averaging 11.8 points per game.
The biggest improvement she has made since high school has been her defense. Mathews is averaging 2.3 steals per game and leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per game. She also guards the other team's top player most games.
"It's just something that I have to make a conscious effort to not let up and play hard," she said. "I don't want to let my team down. I look at it as a challenge to stop the other team's best player. When we watch game film usually coach McIlwee will say, 'this is their best player, Stephanie you'll probably be on her,' and I'll start thinking about how I'm going to defend her."
McIlwee said Mathews' all-around game has been a big factor in the team's success this season.
"Her contributions to this team have been invaluable," he said. "She's just a tremendous athlete. She's a great defender and she's also the third cog in our wheel, so to speak, offensively."
The other side
Lutz led Bridgewater's football team to the Division III NCAA championship game, the Stagg Bowl, two years ago. The quarterback made all the right plays in a stellar season that brought the team national notoriety.
Now he is in a similar situation, this time as a coach. Lutz said he hasn't let himself get too excited this season, but in the Royals' 63-62, last-second win over Christopher Newport on Saturday, his emotions took over.
"That was awesome," he said. "When [Ludholtz] made that layup and then I heard the buzzer go off it was like I was one of the kids again. I haven't felt that way since I threw the touchdown on the first play of the Stagg Bowl."
With only having nine players, Lutz said he still gets to compete with the girls in practice and keep the competitive juices flowing. While he wasn't sure about being a women's college basketball coach originally, Lutz is glad he got that call from Mathews.
"We're 25-3, I can't complain," he said. "I can't think of anything better except being 26-3. If coach McIlwee comes back next year I'll be willing to jump right back on the ship with him."
Fairy-tale ending
With four more wins the Royals could achieve something very few programs ever do — a national championship. McIlwee said the team is in unfamiliar ground and isn't sure what to expect.
"I've coached teams at the high school level to regionals and states, but there is no comparison," he said. "We're just like kids in a candy store. Nothing compares to this experience."
Hardin-Simmons (26-2) has made the "Sweet 16" six years in a row and has a strong tradition in women's basketball. EMU is playing in the tournament for the first time in school history. On paper, the Cowgirls would seem to have an advantage, but Lutz is well aware that games aren't won or lost on paper.
"I'm taking the same approach to this as I did with football and I'm trying to instill that into the girls. You have to take it one game at a time," Lutz said. "Anything can happen out there and you can never give up."
