On second thought
Sara Dennehy had planned on attending Western Washington University. She had her dorm room reserved. She enrolled for classes.
Western’s basketball team showed some interest in Dennehy, inviting her to walk on, but she politely declined. She was prepared to drop the “athlete” from student-athlete.
Then North Idaho College coach Chris Carlson, scrambling for players after being hired in May 2004, called and spoke to Dennehy’s father, Bernie, who persuaded his skeptical daughter into taking a recruiting visit.
“I didn’t want to come here at all, even for the trip, but my dad made me,” Dennehy said. “He wanted me to check it out, see how it was and I said, ‘OK, I’ll do that.’ It was, ‘Hey, you might regret it if you don’t.’ “
Suffice to say the visit went well.
“Her dad told me right after they left my office she looked at him and said, ‘I’m going here,’ “Carlson said.
It was a decision that has benefited both parties. Dennehy, a second-team All-KingCo selection as a senior at Lake Washington High, earned first-team All-Scenic West Athletic Conference honors last season, averaging 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cardinals, who tied for second place.
This season, Dennehy and the Cardinals captured the SWAC title and the right to play host to the Region 18 women’s and men’s tournaments. The former hasn’t happened since 1989, when NIC and Southern Idaho shared the crown. The latter hasn’t happened since 1997, when the Cardinals won the regional title on their home floor and made their most recent trip to nationals.
The 5-foot-11 Dennehy, a dean’s list student who is averaging 14.3 points and 6.6 rebounds, is a near lock for All-SWAC honors and she’s the odds-on favorite for the MVP award.
Not bad for someone whose playing career appeared to be finished 22 months ago. Not bad for someone who had no clue how to play post when she arrived at NIC. Not bad for someone who could care less about her statistics.
“I’d always been on that third-place team,” said Dennehy, who has received recruiting interest from Idaho. “I’d never had the feeling of what it’s like to win it all. It was my first time being able to cut down the net (when NIC clinched the SWAC title). If we can get this (regional title), it’s what we’ve been working for all season.”
Dennehy was a 5-foot-6 point guard at Lake Washington before a late growth spurt.
“I remember the first day of open gym (at NIC) and I was the second-tallest player,” she said. “They were like, ‘You have this girl,’ and I was like, ‘What? I’m a point guard.’ Nobody believed me. My first few months here I had to work on footwork because I’d never done a post move before or played post defense.”
Dennehy has played more on the perimeter this season, but she’s brought the same smooth, steady performance that sometimes gets overlooked. There is nothing flashy about her game, but when the buzzer sounds she’s usually approaching a double-double.
With nearly 50 relatives and friends in attendance at Christianson Gym, Dennehy had 37 points and 21 rebounds in a pair of wins last month over rival Southern Idaho that put NIC in control of the SWAC. In the title-clinching win over Eastern Utah nearly two weeks ago, Dennehy produced 14 points and 13 boards.
“She does a little bit of everything really well,” Carlson said. “She’s really quiet, but when it comes to playing basketball she’s going to sting you. She can do so many different things on the floor. She’s very intelligent – that was the scouting report I got from (KingCo school) Inglemoor coach John Augustavo.
“Boy, was that was dead on.”