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Just call it Rolla-East.
Fontbonne University may be located in St. Louis.
But the Fontbonne University women’s basketball team’s backcourt is all Rolla.
Former Rolla High School all-state athletes Kaitlin Bramel and Calli Collier have led the Fontbonne Griffins into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The surging Griffins, winners of 14 straight games, will play in Crestview Hill, Ky. on Friday against host Thomas More College in the first round of the national tournament.
Fontbonne enters the game with a 18-9 record while Thomas More College is 25-3.
It’s the first national tournament berth for Fontbonne since 2003 and fourth overall.
Sparking a Fontbonne season turnaround has been starting guards Collier, a junior, and Bramel, a sophomore. One was the conference season MVP, the other was the conference tournament MVP.
The duo, who were teammates in Rolla since they began playing basketball in grade-school AAU play, were by far the top guard combo in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) this season. They’ve started every game in the backcourt for Fontbonne this season.
The Griffins won the SLIAC regular-season championship as well as the SLIAC Tournament championship to end the regular campaign in a rush. In the league semifinals the Griffins beat Westminster College 65-57 and in the title game they defeated Blackburn College 73-60.
Bramel was named the SLIAC Player of the Year. She led the SLIAC in assists with a 4.8 average, was second in steals (2.25), second in three-point field goal percentage (.376), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.50) and fifth in scoring (13.3).
Collier also brought home hardware on Saturday, being named SLIAC First-Team All-Conference as well as earning SLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She finished second in the league in scoring (14.1) and second in free throw percentage (83 percent). Collier had 18 points in the conference tournament semifinals and 12 points in the title game.
“Everything just started to click,” Bramel said. “We got going on a run and were beating teams by 30. Everyone kind of found their place. In our last three games we’ve had six players scoring in double figures.”
It was a slow start for the Griffins, as the team stumbled from the gate with a 4-9 record.
“It took a while; four of us played soccer (in the fall) as well,” said Bramel, who was one of those soccer players. “Plus we had two transfer players come in.”
“We did have several soccer players,” said Collier, who was a standout soccer player at Rolla High but doesn’t play the game in college. “A few of the girls on our team are childhood friends, like Kaitlin and I. That’s a bond and as the season went on we all kind of grew into each other’s bond. We learned from each other.”
Just call it Rolla-East.
Fontbonne University may be located in St. Louis.
But the Fontbonne University women’s basketball team’s backcourt is all Rolla.
Former Rolla High School all-state athletes Kaitlin Bramel and Calli Collier have led the Fontbonne Griffins into the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The surging Griffins, winners of 14 straight games, will play in Crestview Hill, Ky. on Friday against host Thomas More College in the first round of the national tournament.
Fontbonne enters the game with a 18-9 record while Thomas More College is 25-3.
It’s the first national tournament berth for Fontbonne since 2003 and fourth overall.
Sparking a Fontbonne season turnaround has been starting guards Collier, a junior, and Bramel, a sophomore. One was the conference season MVP, the other was the conference tournament MVP.
The duo, who were teammates in Rolla since they began playing basketball in grade-school AAU play, were by far the top guard combo in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) this season. They’ve started every game in the backcourt for Fontbonne this season.
The Griffins won the SLIAC regular-season championship as well as the SLIAC Tournament championship to end the regular campaign in a rush. In the league semifinals the Griffins beat Westminster College 65-57 and in the title game they defeated Blackburn College 73-60.
Bramel was named the SLIAC Player of the Year. She led the SLIAC in assists with a 4.8 average, was second in steals (2.25), second in three-point field goal percentage (.376), third in assist/turnover ratio (1.50) and fifth in scoring (13.3).
Collier also brought home hardware on Saturday, being named SLIAC First-Team All-Conference as well as earning SLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She finished second in the league in scoring (14.1) and second in free throw percentage (83 percent). Collier had 18 points in the conference tournament semifinals and 12 points in the title game.
“Everything just started to click,” Bramel said. “We got going on a run and were beating teams by 30. Everyone kind of found their place. In our last three games we’ve had six players scoring in double figures.”
It was a slow start for the Griffins, as the team stumbled from the gate with a 4-9 record.
“It took a while; four of us played soccer (in the fall) as well,” said Bramel, who was one of those soccer players. “Plus we had two transfer players come in.”
“We did have several soccer players,” said Collier, who was a standout soccer player at Rolla High but doesn’t play the game in college. “A few of the girls on our team are childhood friends, like Kaitlin and I. That’s a bond and as the season went on we all kind of grew into each other’s bond. We learned from each other.”
Indeed, Bramel and Collier know each other quite well. The only season they haven’t been on the same team was three years ago, when Collier was a freshman in college and Bramel a senior in high school.
“I’m not sure when we started playing together,” Collier said. “In second-grade I think we were on the same coed team. And we’ve played together ever since.”
Collier says Bramel makes her a better player.
“One hundred percent and beyond it made a difference,” she said. “I think Kaitlin brings out the best in me as a player. I don’t think people can fully understand; because we have played together for so long we just know what the other is going to do.”
Collier was always more of a scorer, in particular setting three-point records in high school.Bramel, normally the ball-distributing point guard, continues to build on her offensive game.
“I’m probably taking it to the hole stronger and making better decisions,” Bramel said. “A lot of the time in high school and as a freshman (last season) I didn’t need to score. I just needed to take care of the ball. This year I was looking to score more.
“At the beginning of this season it was more shooting from behind the arc. Lately I’ve been scoring more by going to the hole.”
Now the Rolla pair are preparing for national tournament action.
“We’re just really excited,” Collier said. “The unknown is such a motivator; they don’t know us and we don’t know them. After we found out who we were playing (on Monday) we did a little research on them. They are a smaller team and they are also young. I think we’ll be evenly-matched.”
“It’s 14 (wins) in a row and it feels good,” Bramel said. “We thought we’d be playing Illinois Wesleyan and they’re like the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. (Thomas More College) is a fairly young team. I don’t think they have anyone over 5-11. Hopefully we can use our height advantage.”
