RANGELY, Colo. (March 6, 2020) - The Colorado Northwestern Community College women's basketball team certainly had its fair share of adversity and ups-and-downs throughout the 2019-20 season.

The Lady Spartans finished the season with a record of 1-27, showcasing a mark that would seem to some to be far from ideal. However, the collegiate student-athlete experience is about more than just a record and the focus on individual development throughout the 2019-20 season has CNCC primed for future seasons.

In postseason comments, CNCC assistant coach Tommy Turgeon said each member of the program made significant improvements over the course of the season.

"Every single member of our team improved in some way this season and it showed in our games as we battled every day against some of the best teams in the country," he said. "They never gave up and played their hearts out – as a coaching staff, we could not be more proud of the effort they gave."

The team-wide focus on improvement has been a contagious trend for Colorado Northwestern, with Turgeon noting that several of the program's returners will have that consistent focus starting early in the season.

"The greatest thing about this group of student-athletes that will be returning next season is that they all contribute in certain ways to the leadership of this team," he said. "They are great people who have high expectations for themselves and for the program moving forward.

"We will be returning both of our team captains - Courtney Freeman and Talia Afuvai. Both of them are great leaders in the classroom, in the student community, and on the court for our team."

When looking at recruiting for the upcoming 2020-21 season, the Lady Spartans will look for players who have development firmly in their mindset, both on-and-off the court. 

"When recruiting potential student-athletes for the CNCC women's basketball program, we look to find those players who want to put in the work to get better every day," she said. "We look for those players who put in the extra effort like diving on the floor for a loose ball or crashing hard for every single rebound even when they are tired.  We look for those players who demonstrate that they are good teammates ,those who work hard on defense and bring a lot of intense ball pressure, those who have sound offensive fundamentals with the ability to score in multiple ways, and those who respond positively to their coaches in teaching moments.

"In terms of team-wide attributes we are searching for, we are trying to recruit more athletic players than in the past, add some more height to our roster, and find more of the players who are looking to continue playing basketball at a four year school after their time at CNCC is over."