Two seniors reach milestones against Stevens Point

The Falcon women's basketball victory over UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 20 was extra special for seniors Traci Reimann and Megan Lindman.

During the 68-44 win, Reimann reached career point number 1,000, while Lindman set the new all-time blocks record at UW-River Falls. Reimann knew she had reached a career milestone as soon as she made a lay-up while being hacked by Steven Point's Ashley Windt with 4:40 left to play in the game. Walking to the free-throw line to complete the three-point play and give the Falcons a 55-36 lead, Reimann had the chance to glance up at the Falcons fans that had made the three-hour trip from River Falls to Stevens Point.

"That was really fun to have some fans and parents up there to celebrate the 1,000th point with me," Reimann said.

Amongst the clapping and hollering Falcons faithful stood teammate Krista Cordes' parents, holding homemade signs. It was at this point that Reimann said she had the chance to see Cordes' father holding a sign which proudly proclaimed her 1,000-point milestone. The sign may have been upside-down, but she understood it.

Reimann said she also realized the accomplishment she had reached, knowing that she had come a long way since point number '0001,' as the sign in the Berg Gym read. Directly to the left of Reimann's sign, Cordes' mother held a right-side-up sign announcing that Lindman was the new career block leader at UWRF.

Lindman, who swatted her record 103rd shot during the game, broke a 25-year-old mark previously held by Patty Saxton. Reaching an individual accomplishment was the last thing on Lindman's mind at the time of the block.

"To be honest, I didn't even know that I broke it," Lindman said.

Ask either of these Falcons post players, and they will tell you without a moment of hesitation that getting a victory in Stevens Point was more important to them than reaching the milestones they did on Jan. 20.

The Falcons win snapped a UW-Stevens Point 22-game home winning streak, with the last Pointers loss coming on Feb. 15, 2005, when River Falls ended a 12-game home winning streak the team held at the time.

In their final season as UWRF women's basketball players, Reimann and Lindman are interested in winning above all else.

"It was awesome to get it, but I'd rather win the rest of the games the rest of our season than get 1,000 points," Reimann said. 
Quotations like this remind Falcons Head Coach Cindy Hovet every day of how special Reimann really is.

Hovet said she knew Reimann would be a great player before she even came to UWRF, and has exceeded all expectations, proving to be the type of player that a coach may only have the opportunity to work with once in a career.

A ceremony was held before the team's game against UW-Stout on Wednesday recognizing both of the players' accomplishments.

For Lindman, the milestone comes amidst an up-and-down season. The senior wears braces and wraps all over her body during games, and at this point, it is pretty easy for Lindman to recap what all is injured.

"Everything," she said. "I'm pretty much down to one good limb, which is my left arm."

Despite the pain, Lindman continues to block shots at a remarkable rate. Nothing stops her from going after the ball, not even the threat of picking up a foul, which she often does.

"I get a lot of fouls because I try to block shots," Lindman said. "It's one thing I really like doing."

This season, not only has Lindman been forced to cope with injuries, but she's also had to learn to deal with coming off of the bench. Lindman hasn't seen the starting lineup since Jan. 6, in a Falcons loss at UW-Whitewater.

"We think [Lindman] is better coming off the bench," Hovet said. "Just for our whole team I thought it was better."

The demotion hasn't brought down Lindman's spirits or her play. In fact, she recently led the team with 20 points in a 79-61 victory over UW-Superior on Jan. 24.

Like the rest of the Falcons seniors this year, Lindman helps out the team any way she can. Hovet doesn't remember ever having the kind of senior impact that she has this year, with all top five scorers on the team being seniors.

Behind the senior leaders, the team is now playing its best basketball of the season after a recent slump. In the end, this overshadows any milestone for a senior leader like Reimann.

"It's a pretty big deal but I'm just glad our team's picking it up and doing a lot better this season at the end," Reimann said.

With all of the senior leadership coinciding with the talent on the team, the team has the potential to finish the season with an appropriate grand finale for the seniors.

While it's great to have all of these seniors, Hovet said she knows that soon the day will come when it is time for these girls to move on, and that is a day Hovet isn't ready for quite yet.

"I'm certainly going to miss these seniors," Hovet said. "They're great kids."