'They're just winners'

It's certainly impressive, but to Liberty-Benton girls basketball coach Nate Irwin, it's not unexpected. Tiffin University's women's hoops program is in a spot it has never been: The Division II NCAA tournament. A big reason for that are two L-B graduates, senior Jensen Hiegel and sophomore Savanah Richards. The pair, who each earned all-Ohio honors while playing for the Eagles, are now starting for Tiffin. Richards averages more than 14 points a game, and Hiegel is averaging better than seven. But more importantly, the two have helped create a winning culture in a program that didn't really have one. And Irwin isn't surprised. "They're just winners. They won a lot for us in high school," Irwin said. "They're competitive kids. You know, it's not a surprise to me that they've had the success that they've had. "They both know how to win, and it's exciting to watch them do that at the next level." But Hiegel and Richards are more than just high school and college teammates. "We've been best friends since my freshman year, since I started in high school," Richards said. "Jensen kind of took me under her wing then." In Tiffin, Hiegel has established herself as not just a solid player, but a team leader. That became important this season. Not only were the Dragons-- like every other team – dealing with COVID-19, but they had a new head coach in Miriam Justinger. The former coach, Jessie Ivey, resigned in September to become an assistant at the University of Toledo. "I took over this, and I got this opportunity kind of late in the ballgame," Justinger said. "My first thought was, if it was any other team with any other leaders, I would be hesitant to take over. But I knew, a kid like Jensen's gonna be continuing that culture coach Ivey had started here." Justinger said that meant Hiegel taking a role when the coaching staff isn't around. "The little things coaches can't control outside of practice," she said. "What's being said in the locker room, what's happening when they leave the gym, I know a player like Jensen is making sure that the kids are doing the right things, she's saying the right things, and that culture's continuing to build in the right way because of her leadership." Justinger said Richards plays a big role, too, with her attitude and work ethic. "First thing I'll say about her is she doesn't take no for an answer," Justinger said of Richards. "She's never gonna hear somebody say, 'well, you're a little bit too small, you're a little bit too slow.' She's gonna work to prove you wrong. She's done just that." And TU has proved people wrong. It finished the regular season 13-8 –its first winning season in almost a decade – then ran off three straight victories in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament to claim the championship and gain an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Dragons play Kentucky Wesleyan – the team they beat in the GMAC championship Saturday – at 8:30 p.m. tonight in Columbus. It's a big game, but Richards said she's used to that. "It's a really big game, but it's also a really exciting game," she said. "We talk about every day how, yeah, it's a lot of pressure ... but we just need to like, embrace it a little bit." Hiegel said the Dragons are not taking this opportunity for granted. "I think everyone here has the same goals," she said. "We just talked about how grateful we all are to have the opportunity, because at the beginning of the year, we didn't know if we were gonna have a season or not. So, not knowing day by day what's going to happen, I think that really helped us focus on the practices and games that we're having, because, tomorrow isn't promised."