A hush took hold of the crowd, the overloud obnoxious buzzer sounded. Then silence, then: CLANG, CLANG, BADA, BADA, BADA, BUMP, CLANG, then silence. No swish, no cheering, only the empty sound of the ball hitting the wooden floor and a collective "ahh damn it!" from the crowd. The Nanooks hope for a miracle playoff birth (and we're talking parting-the-red-sea-type-miracle) was over. The Nanooks lost 58-59.

The February 19 game against Humboldt State was a summary of the lady Nanooks' season. They were down early, came back, looked strong, looked like a sure thing, then all of a sudden it's close again, then the opposing team gets a big break, and disappointment at the buzzer. Of their last six losses, five have been by less than four and three by two or less.

The Nanooks (12-11, 8-6) have two more home games left. They can salvage the season if they can knock off powerhouse Seattle Pacific (21-2, 13-1). They play Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. The team's final game will be played on Saturday at 3 p.m. The team is really hoping for a big crowd. The effort and intensity the squad always brings to the floor really deserves respect.

"We have the best team this year. Attendance has been up this year and that makes us want to play harder. So we need as many fans as we can get," said Valerie Hartman.

Hartman is set to inherit a heavy leadership role next season. "It'll be hard to fill Adrienne (Taalak) and Cody's (Burgess) shoes. I always know what they're gonna do and where they're gonna be. I'm gonna miss them."

Burgess and Taalak, along with Courtney Mason, Andrea Durney, and Candice Smith will be playing their last game Saturday.

Burgess is described by her teammates as a "dominant player who works hard in the classroom and the gym. She makes good decisions, is a good passer and benefits the team a lot."

Teammates described Taalak as "inspirational to watch. Silent, leading by example and actions instead of words. But when she speaks, everyone takes it to heart. When she says 'good job' it's special and when she says we need to do something, we know we need to."

"Andrea (Durney) brings a humor to the team that is very unusual. She's the one that gives the inspirational speeches before the games. Humor is Durney's best quality."

"Courtney is a joy to be around. She's very cool. She gets sooo hype for games and we all feed off of that."

Smith starred for both the volleyball and basketball teams; quite an accomplishment at the college level.

Getting to see these women play is a privilege. You have two more chances, Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.

Photo by Chris Cruthers/ Sun Star Senior Andrea Durny shoots against Humboldt State Saturday February 19 at the Patty Center.

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