Katie Birkel didn’t need to say anything after North Dakota State’s gut-wrenching 76 – 75 overtime loss to the University of Missouri – Kansas City in the opening round of the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls. Her face did all the talking, and it spoke volumes. A flushed-faced and red-eyed Birkel emerged from the losing locker room visibly dejected to answer questions following her team’s early exit.

 

It was the unmistakable look of frustration that her team fell agonizingly short and there was nothing else she could do about it. It was the face of a competitor and floor leader that played 43 of the game’s 45 minutes, more than any other player on the court, only to miss a free throw with 7.2 seconds on the clock in overtime that opened the door for the Kangaroos to sink a running off-balanced leaner with 1.4 seconds left for the win. Quite simply, it was the face of a player that didn’t want to go home so early in March.

 

Carolyn DeHoff, and Bison fans, should be grateful for Birkel’s dried up tears. Nothing serves like jet fuel to the fire of fierce competitors than bitter disappointment. Do you think Birkel needed anyone to tell her that she went 6-for-20 from the field in a postseason game? Her face said probably not. Nobody dared ask in the postgame press conference. DeHoff should have about as much motivating to do this summer as a leprechaun on St. Patrick’s Day.

 

I’d hate to be one of Birkel’s freshmen teammates this summer. Can’t you hear it? They will. Just one more. All summer – just one more pickup game. Yeah, it might be 110 degrees in the BSA, Fargo’s largest sauna from late May through early September. But just one more game.

 

After an exhaustive day of waking up at 5:30 a.m. to lift weights before spending eight hours at work followed by a few more hours of team drills the phone rings. They don’t even have to look at the caller ID. It’s Birkel. Just one more shooting drill. They log onto Facebook and an instant message immediately pops up. It’s Birkel. Just one more set of sprints. Just one more. They curse out loud wondering how in the world she got her own set of keys to the BSA.

 

If the Bison want to finally beat South Dakota State for the first time since the Eisenhower Administration, or experience the “Big Dance,” it’s going to take that kind of effort, that “just one more.” It won’t be easy, but it’s necessary. That’s if the Bison hope to take that next step from pretender to contender. The Summit League is chalked full of young talent. Seven of the eleven All-Summit League performers this year return next season.

 

Competitors hate to lose. If one thing is more readily apparent than a springtime flood in the Red River Valley, it’s that Katie Birkel is a competitor. It’s going to take that competitive fire for the Bison, the "just one more" mentality, to turn the page from postseason disappointment to postseason progress. If not, they’ll continue to find themselves enjoying spring break from the beach instead of in the gym.