By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

A loss is still a win in the eyes of Southern Maine Community College’s lady Seawolves.

While the college basketball team fell short of a national title last week, it’s the third time the team has been to the competition during its seven-year history.

Only 12 teams qualified for the tournament, which featured colleges from throughout the United States. It was the second time in three years SMCC advanced to national playoffs. SMCC also played in the national tournament in 2006.

“There’s a lot of competition out there. We got to play some great teams. We weren’t so lucky but it was still a lot of fun,” said Rachel Del Camp, South Portland resident and sophomore at SMCC.

Del Camp, 21, said she has had many great experiences on the basketball court, but said none of them top when she got to play in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Basketball Tournament with her college teammates and their third-year coach, Becky Roak.

While the team lost in the tournament, the 5-foot, 11-inch sophomore called the experience, “eye-opening.”

“The feeling is indescribable when you accomplish something like that,” Del Camp said.  “It was a goal we all wanted to obtain. It was like icing on the cake. You can’t get much better than that.”

Del Camp, a graduate of Catherine McAuley High School in Portland, said she’s played basketball her entire life.

 “(The tournament) was so different. It was great to go out there and compete. We have a lot of team chemistry.”

The Seawolves played two games in the tournament, which was hosted by Penn State University in Fayette, Pa., and lost both to bigger, faster, more athletic opponents, Roak said. 

Roak grew up in Portland and played basketball for Portland High School. Before coming to SMCC, Roak served for one year as head coach of the women’s basketball team at the University of Maine at Machias.

She began her coaching career by working as assistant coach for women’s basketball at Chowan College in North Carolina, a position she held for three years.

“She’s a tremendous coach,” Del Camp said. “She’s so positive. She put it all together for us. She’s great.”

SMCC has had many successful men’s sports teams since the college opened in 1946, but it did not sponsor women’s athletic teams consistently until the arrival of Athletic Director Matt Richards in 2003. 

Richards has spent the last seven years developing the women’s athletic program at SMCC.

“When I got the job, one of my tasks was to give women’s athletics some emphasis,” Richards said. 

“Basketball was one of the sports that we got up off the ground. Since then, it’s been outstanding. They’ve been competitive right off the bat. It’s great for our college to have a strong women’s athletic program along with a strong men’s athletic program,” he said.

Entering the tournament as the 11^th seed, SMCC lost to No. 6-ranked Indiana University Northwest in the first round by a score of 77-27. Playing in the consolation bracket the next day, the Seawolves were beaten by Saint Mary of the Woods, another Indiana school. The final score was 51-26.

“We were outmatched,” Roak said. “The girls fought hard. They competed until the end but we came up short. We go out there and try our hardest. It’s really about the experience.”

SMCC qualified for the tournament by winning the Yankee Small College Conference Championship. In the conference final, the Seawolves beat rival Central Maine Community College 59-47.

Del Camp was named Most Valuable Player for the tournament and she was selected as Player of the Year for the conference.

“She brought in the hardware,” Roak said. “She had a great season for us.”  

Overall, the Seawolves finished the season with a 17-10 record.

“The thing I would characterize about this team is the growth they had from start to finish,” Richards said. “They started out a little shaky. After Christmas break, they came back and played very well.”

Roak said the team accomplished some “big” wins this season that she called a “big boost” for the program.

“We embody the word team. Our teamwork is what ended up making us successful,” Roak said. 

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.