T-Wolves Finish Their Season At Nationals!

By: Taryn Kelly

During the 2024-25 season, the SUNY Niagara women’s basketball team qualified for the NJCAA DII Women’s Basketball Championship for the fifth time in the program’s history. The tournament was held at Leggett & Platt Athletic Center and hosted the top 20 teams in the nation, which includes SUNY Niagara! 

At nationals, the Thunderwolves played two games. The first game they played was a preliminary game against Rock Valley College. The T-wolves were down 15 points at halftime, scoring 48 points in the second half to push the game to overtime. Unfortunately, Rock Valley won 89-85 in the end. Their second game was a consolation game against Schoolcraft College. The T-wolves were up 37-30 at half, but ultimately lost 74-70 in the end. 

I asked sophomore Cassidy Bauer her thoughts on the season. She says, “as a sophomore, I am so happy we made it this far and that I was able to experience nationals before graduating.” 

Instead of taking a bus like they normally do, they were able to fly down to Missouri, making it a smooth flight for the Thunderwolves. On the first night, the team attended a banquet for players and coaches that provided a dinner, along with dancing and competitions for the players. Another huge part of the banquet was that they gave out awards to the coaches of the teams involved. Women’s basketball head coach Nate Beutel was named the NJCAA Division II East District A Coach of the Year. 

“The experience was great!” Bauer adds, “I’m so happy to be apart of this team and all of our accomplishments this season.” 

The Thunderwolves finished their season with a 27-5 overall record. This season, they earned several titles leading up to their qualification for nationals. For the seventh year in a row, the Thunderwolves were named the Region III Division II champions, defeating Monroe Community College 72-54. They were also the East A District A champions, beating Sullivan County Community College 64-60.