Kelcey Hinz (SR/Whitewater, Kan.) is well aware this is her last hurrah as a college basketball player and is determined to depart with no regrets.
Hinz, Kansas Wesleyan's irrepressible post player, started her final season in impressive style in the Coyotes' season-opening 68-62 victory over Columbia on Friday night inside Mabee Arena. She dominated play inside as she's done so often during her career, finishing with 18 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
"It felt pretty great and knowing this is my last year and I want to give it my all every game," said Hinz, who earned Second Team All-Kansas Conference honors last season and is a nursing major. "Our team is special and I think we proved it tonight showing how special we are and I want to keep going with that."
Hinz had 12 points and seven rebounds the first half as the Coyotes took a 34-28 lead into intermission. They led by as many as 11 points (43-32) in the third quarter but couldn't put Columbia away.
The Cougars got within 50-47 early in final quarter but a 6-0 KWU spurt made it 56-47 with 6:40 left. Columbia got within three again (62-59) with 1:18 remaining and within two (64-62) with 14.3 seconds left.
But four Amanda Hill (SR/Rossville, Kan.) free throws sandwiched around a Columbia turnover allowed the Coyotes to prevail. LaMyah Ricks (SO/Shawnee Mission, Kan.) also played a key role down the stretch going 4 for 4 from the foul line the final 1:27.
Both teams were hampered by turnovers – KWU had 22 and Columbia 21 – but the Coyotes were the superior team defensively. Columbia shot 32 percent (22 of 69) and Wesleyan scored 19 points off Cougar turnovers.
Mallory Shetley, an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American last season, led Columbia with 14 points – 10 in the second half – before fouling out with 5:07 left in the game.
"I think Shetley's going to be one of the best players we play all year," KWU coach Ryan Showman said. "That's no disrespect to anybody in our league but she's just that good.
"Defensively we did enough to win. I think our best defense was just keeping them off the offensive boards. They had 12 in the first half and we held them to seven in the second half. We knew we had to keep them in single digits if we wanted to have a chance to win."
Hinz also cited the defensive effort.
"I think our defense was a major key," she said. "You could just tell when we got a stop it led to a positive outcome and a score for us."
Gabby Mureeba (JR/Allen, Texas) scored 13 and Ricks 10 for KWU, which also got significant contributions from freshmen guards Catherine Bowman (FR/Bucklin, Kan.) and Angel Roman (FR/Jacksonville, Fla.) – Bowman finishing with eight points and Roman six in their initial college outings.
"They've got a chance to be pretty good for us," Showman said. "They still had some freshman moments but I knew that was going to happen. This will be a great opportunity between now and next Friday (when KWU plays Health & Science-St. Louis) to watch some film, look at some things and get better."
Wesleyan shot 41 percent (23 of 56) but was just 1 for 10 from beyond the 3-point arc, which has been moved back from 20 feet, 9 inches to 22-1¾ this season. Columbia, which played in the NAIA national tournament last season and received votes in the 2021-22 preseason poll released earlier this week, was 6 of 22 from deep – McKenzie Dubbert going 3 for 4 with the three makes coming from well beyond the arc in the final 1:49.
"I'm very pleased," Showman said. "I know we've still got a long way to go but it's nice to see what type of team we might be against a really, really good team in Columbia. I was impressed, they play well, they're well coached – that's a good team.
"I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty. Not that this was an ugly win but there were some moments that we kind of lost our minds a little bit and need to get better. But for the first game I'm going to take it."
KWU plays Health & Science at 6 p.m. next Friday and Evangel at 4 p.m. the following day in the Coyote Classic in Mabee Arena. The Wesleyan men's team, which opens the season Saturday against Doane in Crete, Neb., also plays twice in the event starting with Dakota Wesleyan at 8 p.m. next Friday and Clarke at 6 p.m. the following day.