Looking Back At Richfield's Successful Hoops Seasons

If there were two common threads between the Richfield girls and boys basketball teams this past season, it was that both found more success than many figured and both still saw their seasons come to an end all-too soon.

Both squads helped create a sense of community on many a cold winter night and gave not only students and parents, but an entire town something to cheer for and through their play brought a sense of pride to Richfield.

Girls Hoopsters Post 23-5 Record

"It surprised me how well we did," Spartans girls head coach said. "I didn't think we'd end up with 23 wins."

Paced by the efforts of the state's leading scorer, sophomore guard , the Richfield girls basketball team posted a 23-5 overall record and tie for second place in the Classic Suburban Conference (CSC) with North St. Paul after both teams posted an 11-3 conference mark.

Both the Spartans and Polars were swept by eventual Class AAA state runner-up Hill-Murray and split with one another en route to their conference marks after sweeping the other five Classic Suburban teams.

"We didn't have any real bad losses," Wise said. "The kids really developed this season and we had a very good year."

In addition to January, who averaged 25.9 points-per-game this past season, Wise pointed to the improvement of several of her players—guards Hannah Wise and Sierra Ford-Washington, center Bryann Guyton—as keys to the Spartans' three-game improvement on 2009-10 despite the losses of several key seniors after that season.

"Jess really developed into a leader — she's going to get her points, but the next step for her is to become a game manager," coach Wise said. "Hannah, Sierra and (Bryann) all had the opportunity to grow into their roles and they did."

The Spartans did not lose a game in the 2010 portion of their season, going 6-0 before the new year and closing out their first month by claiming the championship of the tournament with a 72-55 defeat of Apple Valley on Dec. 28.

After opening 2011 with losses in two of their first three games, Richfield went on a tear by going 15-2 through the remainder of the regular season to head into the playoffs at 22-4 with the No. 4 ranking in Class AAA.

However, after an easy 58-36 win against neighboring in the Section 6AAA opener, the Spartans' season came to an abrupt end in a 79-70 home loss to No. 5-ranked Orono in the sectional semifinals, leaving Richfield two steps short of a trip to the state tournament.

"The season ended sooner than we would have liked, but it was still a very good year," said Wise, who notched her 100th win as head coach during the season. "This is a fun group of girls with no selfishness."

And with almost every key contributor returning next season—of the Spartans' regulars, only center Katie Anderson will be lost to graduation this spring — the 2010-11 season could be merely prologue for even greater successes next winter.

"I'm cautiously optimistic," Wise said. "We have the pieces in place, now the girls just have to continue to develop and work hard."

One of the lasting triumphs of the 2010-11 season for Richfield may just be the re-emergence of girls basketball as an event to bring the town together.

"The community support was fantastic," Wise said. "We had great crowds and people really started to get behind the team and had fun watching our games."

As a symbol of the community support, when the Spartans hit the court for next season, it will do so in new warm-ups that come courtesy of the .

"We would have worn them for the section final if we had made it," Wise said. "But, we'll just save them for next season."

It's just one of many things to look forward to for the Richfield girls basketball team's 2011-12 campaign.

Boys Go 17-10 This Season

After an off-season that saw much division amongst the Richfield boys basketball ranks following the dismissal of former head coach Jim Dimick, new Spartans leader Omar McMillan sough to unite his team under the motto of "Togetherness."

It worked.

Richfield improved by four games on its 2009-10 record by going 17-10 this past winter and taking third in the CSC with an 11-5 mark.

"It was a fun season  and I had a great time," McMillan said. "It was a great group of kids and I think we gained a lot of respect in the community."

The Spartans opened the season by winning eight of its first nine games and cracked the top-10 in the Class AAA poll. The last of those initial eight victories — a 92-68 dismantling of then-No. 10-ranked St. Thomas Academy at home on Jan. 11 foreshadowed one of team's season highlights.

"Our win on St. Thomas' home floor was the first time we had ever done that," the coach said. 

A month after routing the Cadets in Richfield, the Spartans topped St. Thomas by a score of 69-61 in Mendota Heights for its biggest win of the season.

"Overall, though, I think our whole season was a highlight," McMillan said. "Everybody bought into 'togetherness.'"

The Spartans were far from a one-man show, with a different player taking the lead during many games. Forward Jared Noonan led the Spartans with 15.8 points-per-game, with guard Shawn Bear averaging 11.2 points per contest.

However, Richfield's ultimate goal of winning 20 games this winter was sidetracked by a series of injuries that cost many of its players time on the court — none more so than forward Dashawn Jones' season-ending on Feb. 11.

"We had a massive amount of injuries, but losing Dashawn hurt us a lot," McMillan said. "It was hard to miss his points and rebounds and it shortened up our rotation; it had a domino effect on the team."

Center Dan Beyel picked up much of the slack in the paint and performed admirably as the Spartans finished out the regular season with a 17-9 record, picking up the No. 4 seed for the Section 6AAA playoffs.

However, a 71-69 home l cut Richfield's season heart-breakingly short after just one postseason matchup.

"We didn't end the season the way we would have liked, but at the end of the day, we had fun and that was what we wanted," McMillan said.

While the Spartans lose a handful of regulars, including Daron Garvis, Jared Etienne and John Johnson (who averaged 9.2 points-per-game), Richfield returns the bulk of its squad next season—and McMillan is already thinking about the future.

"The season has already started again for me mentally," he said. "We'll have 11 returning seniors, 6-7 of those who saw playing time this season. I expect us to do big things and I think our opponents will have us under the microscope."

There is one remaining order of business to officially close out the boys' 2010-11 season—a banquet on April 10. It will give the Spartans one last chance to pause and reflect as a group on the successes of the past three-plus months.

"It was great," McMillan said. "It was a very enjoyable season with a great group of kids."