Hoops journey: Colony graduate caps career in college national tournament

WASILLA — As Greg Ray stood near Joel Stefanski during the opening ceremonies of the NAIA Division I National Tournament in Missouri last month, Ray couldn’t help but be consumed by the moment.

Ray, a women’s basketball associate head coach at Central Methodist University, has known the Stefanski family for more than a decade. A former longtime youth basketball coach in Alaska, Ray first coached Stefanski’s daughter, Saige, as a fifth grader in the Mat-Su Mavericks program. Saige Stefanski is now a senior in college, and a member of the CMU women’s basketball team that advanced to the NAIA national tournament.

“We get there, and I’m standing around looking. Her dad and I are taking pictures. Who would have thought after all those years ago in the fifth grade we would have come this far? The fifth grade to the national tournament,” Ray said recently. “It just hit me. Who gets to do this as a player? It was very special for me.”

Ray and Saige Stefanski didn’t share the same path from the Valley to the Fayette, Missouri, school. Stefanski’s journey after graduating from Colony High School in 2012 was bumpy at times. But the former Colony multisport standout continued to push forward, and once their tracks did intersect again, Stefanski found herself reunited with her longtime mentor.

The final game

It’s been more than two weeks since Stefanski’s basketball career came to an end.

CMU entered the NAIA national tournament, March 17, with a 26-4 record, the Heart of America Conference champions and the 14th-ranked team in NAIA Division I basketball. But the favorites on paper were upset on the floor, falling to 20th-ranked Great Falls 70-58.

Stefanski still can’t help but get emotional when recalling her final day as a college women’s basketball player, and part of a team that vastly exceeded any expectation pundits had for the Eagles. CMU was picked to finish seventh in the conference in the preseason poll.

“Nobody thought we could accomplish something like that,” Stefanski said of the conference title. “The national tournament was even bigger for us.”

Stefanski said CMU head coach Mike Davis, who returned to coach the Eagles after leaving the program in 1999 following a successful 12-year, played a major role in rebirth of the program.

“Coach was a big key with that. Everybody on the team worked so hard. It was really unfortunate to lose in the first round, especially against a team we thought we could beat. It was really tough, being a senior, with it being over for me,” Stefanski said.

The extended road from

CHS to CMU

Stefanski has long been a gifted athlete. She excelled in basketball and softball during her days at Colony High. Ray has fond memories of Stefanski blossoming as a youth player.

“From a coaching perspective, you can’t put into words when you see what she’s gone through. She had a lot of success in the youth program at an early age. She moved on to Alaska Lady Hoops and had success,” Ray said.

But in high school, Stefanski split her time between basketball and softball.

“Saige focused on being a well-rounded student-athlete in high school,” Ray said.

Ray feels Stefanski didn’t get the recognition she deserved coming out of Colony High. He offered Stefanski the opportunity to attend CMU right out of high school. There was as place on the program’s junior varsity roster, with the chance to compete for a varsity spot. Stefanski declined, opting instead to play at the junior college level.

Following a two-year stint with Walla Walla Community College in Washington, Stefanski stood at a crossroads. There were options, including Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. Stefanski said she really connected with the team’s head coach, Jennifer Schooler. But the school itself may not have been the best fit.

At the ASAA state basketball tournament in Anchorage in 2014, Stefanski talked to Ray about attending CMU.

“I had other options, but I liked CMU the best,” Stefanski said. “He jokes with me all the time, especially this last season. I should have been there the entire time.”

But Stefanski stands by her path to CMU.

“I think it all worked out the way it was meant to,” Stefanski said.

Holding her own

As an NAIA player, Stefanski has had to really work to keep her spot on the roster, Ray said.

“The first year here, it wasn’t what she expected,” Ray said. “She’s a very strong kid, smart kid. She could always shoot the ball. But it was the speed of the game.”

James Arnold, the head coach of the program during Stefanski’s junior season with the Eagles, was prepared to make cuts prior to the next year.

“There were four kids on the chopping block,” Ray said. “We weren’t going to bring back all of the seniors.”

Stefanski was one of those players.

But Arnold resigned in July of 2015. After Davis was appointed head coach, Ray made his plea.

“It’s not the right thing to do to cut any of those seniors,” Ray said.

The group of players, which included Stefanski, remained on the team. But that left 16 players on the roster. Only 15 can suit up in a game. Ray said the coaching staff put together a rotation among three of the players, including Stefanski. Each player would not be in uniform every third game.

“It was really tough on them. But they got through it,” Ray said.

And Stefanksi continued to work to keep her spot on the team.

Eventually Stefanski found opportunity. A player left the team, which allowed her to dress every night. The additional hard work also led to more playing time on the floor.

“She moved herself into the top six or seven people, and played significant minutes,” Ray said. “She knew she was coming in to do a specific job, whether it be shoot the three or box out and get rebounds. From a coaching perspective, it made me proud.”

Finding her role

Stefanski said she always wishes she could have done better, but is proud of her accomplishments.

“One thing the coaches really stressed to me this year, everybody has a role. I was doing my role exactly the way they wanted me to,” Stefanski said.

Stefanski said her season really took a turn while the Eagles were playing in the Johnson and Wales Classic in Denver, Colorado.

“I went in the first game and took a charge. Coach Davis said that totally turned (the game) around. That won it,” Stefanski said. “The next game I played 20 minutes.”

Stefanski played in 24 games as a senior.

A pillar

CMU honors select student-athletes with its 4 Pillars Awards, with the pillars being: passionate pursuit of excellence, ownership of responsibility and accountability, development of leader communication skills, and pride and loyalty in CMU, team and self.

In February, Stefanski was honored for her passionate pursuit of excellence.

“Saige is always the first one to practice. Saige is always one to do all of the extra things and has been a valuable member of this team. She truly enjoys being part of this team and that is what is most important,” Davis said in a press release issued by the university.

Her mentors

Stefanski said the return of Davis to the program was central to the success of the Eagles.

“He really focuses on his relationships with the players. That definitely was a big key for me making it. The incentives to keep working toward things,” Stefanski said. “Coach Davis really works on solid relationships with every one of his players.”

Not only does she feel fortunate to end her career with a head coach the caliber of Davis, but Stefanski said it means a great deal to have Ray there.

“He’s been there since the beginning,” Stefanski said. “My dad was my first coach. But (Greg Ray) was my first real competitive coach. He’s been there throughout my entire career, supported me.”

Stefanski said even when she thought they’d lost touch, Ray was always supporting her, whether she realized it or not.

The Eagles may have lost in that first-round tournament game March 17. But for Stefanski and Ray, the experience of the journey outweighs the result of the game.

“Out of high school, he wanted me to come play (at CMU), but I ended up at a community college. He helped me be able to work through,” Stefanski said. “I think it was all part of the plan.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.