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Without sacrifice, talent would not have been enough
HOLLAND, Mich. -- The goal of every competitive person playing a sport is to win the championship. To do that, in basketball, you have to be on the best team. And to have the best team, everyone needs to be great and everyone needs to sacrifice some of her greatness for the good of the team.
The goal of basketball is to sacrifice.
The DePauw women had the best team. They had the best players and they had to most selfless players. Everyone sacrificed something, and nobody considered doing otherwise.
Eight players on DePauw would start for every other team in the country.
Senior Kat Molloy started as a junior, then moved to the bench to help her team. It was just the thing to do to help them win.
Junior Alison Stephens began her career as a guard, then moved to the post after several knee injuries.
Seniors Kate Walker and Ellie Pearson (and junior Ali Ross, and sophomore Savannah Trees) all had the talent to be an All-American this year. Nobody played more than 23 minutes per game in the regular season. Nobody scored more than 13 points per game. Nobody cared.
They knew they had to give that up to win a national championship, and that's what they did. Then the selfless, perfect team hit a snag.
Leading-scorer Alex Gasaway shredded her knee in practice.
"To think of what this team did to rally around that, and what Alex did to get back so she could help us somewhat, is really remarkable to me," DPU coach Kris Huffman said.
Gasaway was named as a third team All-American on Saturday. She averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds. She sat out three games, and maybe sacrificed her senior season.
"We needed her, and she was able to step in," Stephens said. "Never once did she feel bad for herself or sorry for herself. ... It's something that I know from experience that I couldn't do. It's amazing that she can still play."
Stephens has had five surgeries on her knee. She knows about knees. She can't believe that Gasaway could get on the court.
Gasaway is an extremely talented player and has no fear of pain. She decided her team needed her to suit up, so she suited up. Her speed, strength and lift were limited, but she's still had a silky-smooth jumper.
Every play she makes is a momentum changer, because the rest of the Tigers know what she's sacrificing. She plays without fear and throws her body around the court, making up for the lost speed with added aggressiveness.
"It's not that hard," Gasaway said. "It's torn. You can't tear it more, so I don't get scared. It hurts a little bit, but ..."
Gasaway completely tore her anterior cruciate ligament on Feb. 21. It's gone. She's getting a transplant next week. She also partially tore her meniscus, and that needs to be fixed.
If you're not sure what an ACL is, it connects two bones in your knee and it's got the word crucial in its name.
She played the final five games without it.
A complete tear requires surgery and it takes more than a year to fully recover. Until about 15 years ago, an ACL tear ended careers. Gasaway is a junior. She might now have to miss some or most of her senior season while she rehabs.
Listening to Gasaway, it's as if she doesn't think having that much toughness and will is any big deal. She'd do the same thing 10 times out of 10, and never think twice.
Isn't that incredible?
"Anything is worth it to have the national championship," Gasaway said. "To be able to say that we were undefeated? 34-0? That's incredible."