Basketball: Northwest Arkansas players help Central Missouri claim national title

Paige Redmond wasn't a focal point when Central Missouri coaches came to watch her AAU basketball team four years ago.

Jennies coach Dave Slifer acknowledged they were more focused on her Arkansas Hawks teammate Emilie Jobst. But he ended up getting both, along with two more Hawks -- Peyton Taylor and Sydney Crockett -- to give him four players from Northwest Arkansas on his roster.

"I was the throw-in," Redmond joked. "They knew if they wanted to get my best friend, they were going to have to offer me."

The 5-foot-8 junior hasn't played like a throw-in, has she earned All-American honors and helped lead Central Missouri to the NCAA Division II women's basketball national championship a little more than a week ago.

Slifer said Redmond's work ethic makes her stand out, and it has rubbed off on her teammates.

"I've told her what differentiates her is she works harder than anybody in the country," Slifer said. "People in our community walk every morning in our multi-purpose building, and they can count on Paige being in there on the shooting machine getting shots up. Whenever you see that, the rest of the team figures out that's probably gonna help and others start coming in and getting extra shots up."

The friends played different roles for the Jennies this season.

Redmond leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging more than 16 points and four assists per game. She also surpassed 1,200 career points during the postseason. Taylor and Jobst were slowed by injuries earlier in their careers and both redshirted their freshman seasons.

Crockett supplies energy off the bench, while Taylor's specialty is board work, Redmond said.

"Our coaches look for me to bring movement on the floor," Crockett said. "Sometimes our offense isn't moving like it should. Coaches want me to get us moving and not necessarily to get a shot for myself, but for someone else, too."

Central Missouri (30-3) bounced back from an upset loss in the quarterfinals of its conference tournament to win six straight games and knock off defending champion Ashland to win the title. The Jennies snapped Ashland's 73-game winning streak in the process and claimed the second national championship for the school in a matter of months after the women's soccer team also won the crown in fall.

Redmond said the players talked about winning a national championship plenty, but seeing the soccer team accomplish it was more motivation.

"We saw that confetti come down and them celebrate, and we just looked at each other and said 'we want this feeling.'" Redmond said.

They got it, but the Jennies had endure at least a couple setbacks along the way.

Slifer gave the team a couple of days off after the loss in the conference tournament, and they returned the practice floor determined.

"You could just see the look on everyone's faces at that practice that they were bought in," Redmond said. "We knew it could happen. I don't think anybody else thought it could happen, but we did."

Slifer also pointed to an early season loss to Arkansas-Fort Smith as another key point in the season.

"I think we realized how fragile it is," Slifer said. "I think it ended up helping us in the end. They threw a bucket of cold water on us."

The quartet starred at four different Northwest Arkansas high schools. Redmond earned all-state honors at Springdale Har-Ber, while Jobst did the same at Rogers Heritage. Taylor shined at Bentonville High, while Crockett helped Fayetteville to a state title as a senior.

The friends were adversaries in the 7A-West Conference, but played together in the summer. They chose to keep that going by all heading to play college basketball in Warrensburg, Mo.

Redmond and Crockett agreed having their friends with them was a tremendous help adjusting to college basketball and college in general. All four lived together as suite mates as freshmen, but learning to live together presented a challenge or two.

"Oh there were definitely times where we butted heads," Redmond said. "We're trying to figure out four girls living together and sharing one bathroom. But it was great having people you knew. Being on a new team is hard enough."

Redmond admitted the coaches offering all four of the Northwest Arkansas group made the decision easier.

"The fact the program took a chance on all four us at the same time helped me for sure," Redmond said. "Playing basketball and going to college is hard. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. It's been special to experience it with them. Our parents are all close, too. It's pretty cool."

"Coming from the same area, we all kinda knew we had the same standards for basketball and the same ideas and work ethic," Crockett added. "That played into it. Now, we'll just keep working hard and playing together."

They are hoping that's enough to help Central Missouri make another run at a national title next season.

Sports on 04/01/2018