I was sad to see the ladies lose, especially after having a lead. I have a legit two part question since I don't know much about women's hoops. They have been darn good for a long time. What will it take for them to break through to win multiple tournament games and can they do that coming from the Horizon League?
I've always wondered the same thing. It's like the program is in a rut in a sense (but many teams would kill to be in GB's position, especially Wisconsin...
). The template would be: GB would dominate the conference (losing 2 conference games is a "down" year for the ladies), win the HL tourney, then get a first round game, then maybe win that game 25-30% of the time. Here's the post season numbers since Carol Hammerle got GB's first NCAA berth in 1993-1994 (I was a student there back then):
SEASON COACH OVERALL CONF PLACE RESULT
1993–94 Carol Hammerle 18–11 13–5 2nd NCAA First Round
1994–95 Carol Hammerle 19–9 10–6 T–4th NONE
1995–96 Carol Hammerle 20–9 14–2 1st NONE
1996–97 Carol Hammerle 18–11 11–5 3rd NONE
1997–98 Carol Hammerle 21–9 11–3 2nd NCAA First Round
1998–99 Kevin Borseth 19–10 13–1 1st NCAA First Round
1999–00 Kevin Borseth 21–9 12–2 1st NCAA First Round
2000–01 Kevin Borseth 22–9 12–2 T–1st WNIT First Round
2001–02 Kevin Borseth 24–7 15–1 1st NCAA First Round
2002–03 Kevin Borseth 28–4 15–1 1st
NCAA Second Round2003–04 Kevin Borseth 23–8 13–3 1st NCAA First Round
2004–05 Kevin Borseth 27–4 15–1 1st NCAA First Round
2005–06 Kevin Borseth 23–7 14–2 T–1st WNIT First Round
2006–07 Kevin Borseth 29–4 16–0 1st
NCAA Second Round2007–08 Matt Bollant 26–6 17–1 1st WNIT First Round
2008–09 Matt Bollant 29–4 18–0 1st NCAA First Round
2009–10 Matt Bollant 28–5 15–3 1st
NCAA Second Round2010–11 Matt Bollant 34–2 18–0 1st
NCAA Sweet Sixteen2011–12 Matt Bollant 31–2 17–1 1st
NCAA Second Round2012–13 Kevin Borseth 29–3 16–0 1st NCAA First Round
2013-14 Kevin Borseth 22-10 13-3 1st WNIT First Round
2014-15 Kevin Borseth 28-5 15-1 1st NCAA First Round
2015-16 Kevin Borseth 28-5 16-2 1st NCAA First Round
2016-17 Kevin Borseth 27–6 15–3 1st NCAA First Round
2017-18 Kevin Borseth 29-4 16-2 1st NCAA First Round
Like it or not, most of GB's post season success came under Bollant (with what we know about Bollant and Mike Divilbiss and Divilbiss' coaching "methods", the success came at a very hard cost to some players). Was it a product of Bollant getting more out of players that were recruited by the first Kevin Borseth recruiting classes before he left for Michigan, or was it a product of Bollant being a stronger recruiter than Borseth? Those Bollant teams seemed to be a little more athletic than any of the other GB team's coached by Borseth or Hammerle. Remember, GB only lost by 10 to eventual National Champion, Baylor, led by Brittany Greiner, in the Sweet 16.
What this team is missing, even with the Bollant teams, is more size and athleticism up front. The GB teams under Borseth, Bollant, and Hammerle always shot the ball well from the perimeter and also were stout defensively, But as soon as they go past the first round games in most years, they would struggle to rebound against the mid to higher tier Power 6 schools, especially if those 3pt shots weren't falling.
I'm sure Kevin Borseth is trying to make his team better by trying to land those recruits with more size/athleticism up front, but with Title IX, and the fact that there are more scholarships in women's basketball then men's, those players who would sit at the end of the bench for a Power 6 school (which would have more course/major offerings and better academic reputations for those players who chose to attend there and won't be playing pro ball in the WNBA or Europe) versus getting playing time for GB and will consistently get to the NCAA's , but playing a a small public school with far less to offer academically.