Its time for my top ten local stories of 2019. As in the past this is just a list that comes from the top of my head. I know there is a more scientific way to do it, and each year I acknowledge that there are stories that belong that get left out…. with all of that being said… Lets get started….
The number ten story on this years countdown is the 2018-2019 College of the Ozarks Women’s Basketball Team.
As is pretty much the case every year, Coach Becky Mullis’ ball team takes on all comers and plays about as tough a schedule as you can imagine. And as has become custom their eyes were on Sioux City, Iowa and the NAIA Division II National Championships.
The Lady Cats spent most of the year near the top of the rankings and it was no surprise that come tournament time, they were ready to make a run. It just so happen that they found themselves taking on one of the host institutions, Nortwestern (IA) with at trip to the Final Four on the line.
C of O led throughout the game and found themselves with a double digit lead in the fourth quarter. Things would not go their way, including a couple of close calls that went to replay. In the end the Lady Cats saw their season end with a 71-70 loss. They were later issued an apology from the NAIA, recognizing that Northwestern had been awarded an extra point during the contest.
31-4 proved to be the final record for a group that included two NAIA All-Americans. More on them later in my countdown.
