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With seven games left, there may be more than seven games left in this, the school's third season as an NCAA Division I transitional member and an Independent. That combination is supposed to be a double whammy and not leave a team in strong contention for a postseason berth.
But don't tell that to the Jackrabbits.
"We're not just playing to finish out our season," said forward Megan Vogel, the club's lone senior, "we're playing to propel and make sure we're peaking at that last game of the year so that when we get that WNIT bid we're going to be playing well and we're going to be able to do well in the tournament."
It's not a lock because, seven games - or 25 percent of the regular season - has yet to be played, but Jackrabbits coach Aaron Johnston said that he "couldn't be happier" about the team's position.
"I think this year we have a better understanding of the NIT," said Jacks sophomore post Jen Warkenthien, who is second on the team in scoring (9.2 points) and rebounding (5.8 rebounds). "Last year, we were kind of on the bubble. This year, we're more hungry for it. We know we need to keep going. We can't have a couple of losses."
"When we set out to make this transition, we talked about trying to become a top 75-, top 60-type program," Johnston said. "That our program right now is in the top 35 (of some rankings) is fantastic. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to be here, how many top teams we've had to beat - we've had to go on the road to beat them. This has been two or three years of work to get to this point. This is a special year. We could turn around and play average the rest of the way and it goes from special to not."
But don't tell that to the Jackrabbits.
"We're not just playing to finish out our season," said forward Megan Vogel, the club's lone senior, "we're playing to propel and make sure we're peaking at that last game of the year so that when we get that WNIT bid we're going to be playing well and we're going to be able to do well in the tournament."
It's not a lock because, seven games - or 25 percent of the regular season - has yet to be played, but Jackrabbits coach Aaron Johnston said that he "couldn't be happier" about the team's position.
"I think this year we have a better understanding of the NIT," said Jacks sophomore post Jen Warkenthien, who is second on the team in scoring (9.2 points) and rebounding (5.8 rebounds). "Last year, we were kind of on the bubble. This year, we're more hungry for it. We know we need to keep going. We can't have a couple of losses."
"When we set out to make this transition, we talked about trying to become a top 75-, top 60-type program," Johnston said. "That our program right now is in the top 35 (of some rankings) is fantastic. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to be here, how many top teams we've had to beat - we've had to go on the road to beat them. This has been two or three years of work to get to this point. This is a special year. We could turn around and play average the rest of the way and it goes from special to not."