Army West Point Athletics
Feature Friday: Women’s Basketball’s Historic Class
March 04, 2016 | Women's Basketball
Feature Friday highlights the tremendous personal stories our coaches and cadet-athletes have to share on a weekly basis. Each Friday, a new feature story will be prominently highlighted on GoArmyWestPoint.com. The features will include multi-media pieces, as well as written stories by media outlets and the Army West Point athletic communications staff.
The five members of the Army women's basketball Class of 2016 made their way to midcourt, following their team's 72-38 win over Boston University on Senior Night, where they were told to gather for a postgame celebration of the senior class.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the five first classmen looked toward the ceiling, where two banners were tied up to the rafters on either side of three banners honoring the retired jerseys of a trio of former women's basketball standouts.
As Christl Arena's public address announcer rallied off the class' list of accomplishments, including how the Class of 2016 owns school records for most wins and highest winning percentage, and is on the verge of becoming the best in Patriot League women's history, the seniors had no idea what was coming next.
"It was a very big surprise to all of us," said Jean Parker, one of Army's four senior captains. "They brought us out to center court and we figured 'maybe they'll say some nice things about us,' but coach pointed to the rafters and we saw the banners."
The first of the two banners was unfurled and read simply "Women's Basketball Class of 2016."
Head coach Dave Magarity, now in his 10th season at West Point, is a 32-year coaching veteran who has seen greatness in the likes of former players turned NBA draft picks Rik Smits and Jared Jordan, who he mentored during his 18 seasons as the men's coach at Marist. But Magarity has seen something in Army's Class of 2016 that separates it from the others in his previous college coaching experience.
"What makes them special is the journey," Magarity said. "You go through this class and there are kids that didn't have any Division I offers, and look at their record. What these five kids have been able to do on the basketball court, in the classroom, and what they're going to do in the Army, blows me away. For me, this is the best class I've coached in my career."
Army completed the regular season on a 16-game winning streak that left it with a program-best 26 victories, as part of a 26-2 overall record, while the senior class raised their career win total to 96 wins to establish the Patriot League mark for most victories over a four-year period.
Before the second banner was dropped, the players, fans and coaches inside Christl Arena were read blow-by-blow highlights of Kelsey Minato's record-breaking career, giving everyone a sense of what the second banner would represent.
Despite the inevitability of the pending recognition, all five seniors were surprised when Minato's jersey was retired to make her the first active player in United States Military Academy history to draw an honor of that kind.
The collective surprise quickly changed to excitement, as Parker, Brianna Johnson, Brigette Ocran and Aimee Oertner lifted their classmate up to celebrate the unprecedented moment.
"That was really special," Minato reflected. "For coach and the athletic department to do that for me means a lot. At the same time, it's something that I wouldn't have gotten if I didn't have the teammates I have or have the coaches I have, so a lot of that credit needs to go to who I'm surrounded by."
Minato's acknowledgment of her peers is something that extends beyond herself and to her classmates and teammates, all of whom understand the unique opportunities they were afforded upon entrance into the world's most prestigious leadership academy.
"I have been so blessed with the best teammates and the best coaches," Oertner, the team's 6-foot-2 shot-blocking leader, said. "Most schools didn't give me an opportunity to go to their school and that's the same with a lot of the other girls. I think our ability to go through that adversity together has made it easier to build the chemistry that we have."
The chemistry Oertner talks about has been apparent since the five seniors took the floor for the first time together during mass athletics in the summer before their freshman year. Mass athletics is a time when cadets are able to break from the rigorous adjustment of Cadet Basic Training, which takes place almost immediately upon their arrival to West Point.
"I knew we could be special right away," said Johnson, a former walk-on who has since worked her way into the starting five. "I don't know about the other girls, but I realized how well the team clicked, especially our class. All of our personalities fit so well and that has added cohesion on the court. I think from an early stage, we knew we had a chance to do something special."
Army went on to win 22 games in 2012-13 and earn the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament for just the second time since the conference's first season in 1990-91. The Black Knights were upset in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament, but secured the first Women's National Invitation Tournament bid in program history, and only the second national postseason tournament berth, after the Black Knights reached the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
The Class of 2016 improved on its success a year later, when it helped lead Army back to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Holy Cross in the Patriot League title game.
Minato played a star role that season, earning Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after scoring a league title game-record 31 points, while Johnson and Oertner each started the majority of the season and played key defensive roles throughout the year. Parker had her breakout season as a sharp-shooting threat off the bench and Ocran played in 26 games and found her role as one of the team's vocal leaders.
Army continued to establish itself as a perennial contender in 2014-15, with a second-place finish in the Patriot League before earning a second trip to the WNIT following the regular season and conference tournament.
This season, with four of the team's five seniors in the starting lineup, everything has lined up for the Black Knights to have another run at a league title.
Army will enter this year's Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the seniors know they have the family-like camaraderie capable of succeeding in their goal of another league title.
"The bond is completely different here," Ocran said. "You go through the hardest part of your adult years together and you go through the military life together. There's always someone there who's going through everything with you. You're not alone when you do anything here, there's always someone by your side and I would consider every one of these girls my sister."
Click here to read previous Feature Friday stories.
The five members of the Army women's basketball Class of 2016 made their way to midcourt, following their team's 72-38 win over Boston University on Senior Night, where they were told to gather for a postgame celebration of the senior class.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder, the five first classmen looked toward the ceiling, where two banners were tied up to the rafters on either side of three banners honoring the retired jerseys of a trio of former women's basketball standouts.
As Christl Arena's public address announcer rallied off the class' list of accomplishments, including how the Class of 2016 owns school records for most wins and highest winning percentage, and is on the verge of becoming the best in Patriot League women's history, the seniors had no idea what was coming next.
"It was a very big surprise to all of us," said Jean Parker, one of Army's four senior captains. "They brought us out to center court and we figured 'maybe they'll say some nice things about us,' but coach pointed to the rafters and we saw the banners."
The first of the two banners was unfurled and read simply "Women's Basketball Class of 2016."
Head coach Dave Magarity, now in his 10th season at West Point, is a 32-year coaching veteran who has seen greatness in the likes of former players turned NBA draft picks Rik Smits and Jared Jordan, who he mentored during his 18 seasons as the men's coach at Marist. But Magarity has seen something in Army's Class of 2016 that separates it from the others in his previous college coaching experience.
"What makes them special is the journey," Magarity said. "You go through this class and there are kids that didn't have any Division I offers, and look at their record. What these five kids have been able to do on the basketball court, in the classroom, and what they're going to do in the Army, blows me away. For me, this is the best class I've coached in my career."
Army completed the regular season on a 16-game winning streak that left it with a program-best 26 victories, as part of a 26-2 overall record, while the senior class raised their career win total to 96 wins to establish the Patriot League mark for most victories over a four-year period.
Before the second banner was dropped, the players, fans and coaches inside Christl Arena were read blow-by-blow highlights of Kelsey Minato's record-breaking career, giving everyone a sense of what the second banner would represent.
Despite the inevitability of the pending recognition, all five seniors were surprised when Minato's jersey was retired to make her the first active player in United States Military Academy history to draw an honor of that kind.
The collective surprise quickly changed to excitement, as Parker, Brianna Johnson, Brigette Ocran and Aimee Oertner lifted their classmate up to celebrate the unprecedented moment.
"That was really special," Minato reflected. "For coach and the athletic department to do that for me means a lot. At the same time, it's something that I wouldn't have gotten if I didn't have the teammates I have or have the coaches I have, so a lot of that credit needs to go to who I'm surrounded by."
Minato's acknowledgment of her peers is something that extends beyond herself and to her classmates and teammates, all of whom understand the unique opportunities they were afforded upon entrance into the world's most prestigious leadership academy.
"I have been so blessed with the best teammates and the best coaches," Oertner, the team's 6-foot-2 shot-blocking leader, said. "Most schools didn't give me an opportunity to go to their school and that's the same with a lot of the other girls. I think our ability to go through that adversity together has made it easier to build the chemistry that we have."
The chemistry Oertner talks about has been apparent since the five seniors took the floor for the first time together during mass athletics in the summer before their freshman year. Mass athletics is a time when cadets are able to break from the rigorous adjustment of Cadet Basic Training, which takes place almost immediately upon their arrival to West Point.
"I knew we could be special right away," said Johnson, a former walk-on who has since worked her way into the starting five. "I don't know about the other girls, but I realized how well the team clicked, especially our class. All of our personalities fit so well and that has added cohesion on the court. I think from an early stage, we knew we had a chance to do something special."
Army went on to win 22 games in 2012-13 and earn the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament for just the second time since the conference's first season in 1990-91. The Black Knights were upset in the quarterfinal round of the Patriot League Tournament, but secured the first Women's National Invitation Tournament bid in program history, and only the second national postseason tournament berth, after the Black Knights reached the NCAA Tournament in 2006.
The Class of 2016 improved on its success a year later, when it helped lead Army back to the NCAA Tournament after defeating Holy Cross in the Patriot League title game.
Minato played a star role that season, earning Patriot League Tournament MVP honors after scoring a league title game-record 31 points, while Johnson and Oertner each started the majority of the season and played key defensive roles throughout the year. Parker had her breakout season as a sharp-shooting threat off the bench and Ocran played in 26 games and found her role as one of the team's vocal leaders.
Army continued to establish itself as a perennial contender in 2014-15, with a second-place finish in the Patriot League before earning a second trip to the WNIT following the regular season and conference tournament.
This season, with four of the team's five seniors in the starting lineup, everything has lined up for the Black Knights to have another run at a league title.
Army will enter this year's Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the seniors know they have the family-like camaraderie capable of succeeding in their goal of another league title.
"The bond is completely different here," Ocran said. "You go through the hardest part of your adult years together and you go through the military life together. There's always someone there who's going through everything with you. You're not alone when you do anything here, there's always someone by your side and I would consider every one of these girls my sister."
Click here to read previous Feature Friday stories.
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward/Center
/ Women's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Women's Basketballvs. Wagner
Saturday, December 08