Winning Season for Women's Basketball

March 10, 2006

Brandy Gratten earned Academic All-American in the NCCAA and the ACCA and was honored as the top female athlete in the country in the ACCA by receiving the David Terry Award.

The Lady Crusaders wrapped up their 2005-06 season with their first ever 20-win season. The 20 victory plateau is a mark not reached by any other sports team in DCC history. The Lady Crusaders started the year by defeating Southwest Assembly of God University on their home court at their annual Pepsi Tip-Off Classic, and went on to sweep the Cookson Hills’ New Year’s Classic blowing out college rival Ozark Christian College and finishing the Classic with a defeat of Manhattan Christian University ranked #3 in the country.

In the second semester the Lady Crusaders went on to defeat University of Dallas on their home court, and although All-American Quin Reed went down with an injury missing one month of play, the team was still able to string together some important victories and wrap up with a 3rd place finish in the ICC Conference and a 3rd place finish at the Southwest Regional Tournament. Lindsey Bradford, key in this stretch, stepped up to lead the team in scoring, steals, and assists. Bradford went on to earn 1st Team All-Conference honors and 1st Team All-Region Honors. Lindsey was also the lone representative on the Southwest All-Regional Tournament team.

Finishing the year, the Lady Crusaders received an invitation to the ACCA National Tournament held in Oklahoma City, where they entered the tournament with a #3 ranking. Quin Reed, making her return after a month of recovering from an ankle injury, led the Crusaders to the championship game stringing together back to back triple doubles and carrying the team in the championship game with 31 points. The Lady Crusaders finished short of their first ever National Championship by losing a controversial game by only 1 point. Lindsey Bradford and Quin Reed were both honored for their outstanding year by being named ACCA 1st Team All-Americans. Brandy Gratten, the Lady Crusaders lone senior, was named an NCCAA and ACCA Academic All-American. Gratten also was a recipient of the coveted ACCA David Terry Award, rewarded to the top female and male athlete in the country based off academics, athletic ability, leadership, and community service.

The Lady Crusaders coming off of their first ever winning season in 04-05 took one more step in solidifying Dallas as one of the top small colleges in the country. The Lady Crusaders will return 9 players next year, and are determined to take the program to even higher levels. Stay tuned!