Who? The Eagles of Winthrop.
What? Big Stuff picked up the name sometime in the '80s. I get the feeling it was kind of affectionate.
Where? Rock Hill, South Carolina, which is part of the Charlotte metropolitan area despite being in South Carolina.
When? March 9th, in Conway, South Carolina.
Why? They won the Big South Conference tournament.
How? Dequesha McClanahan did what she does, with game highs of 24 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and four steals to lead Winthrop to their first Big South title, 87-74 over High Point.
Surprise? Predicted to finish second in the conference, they finished one game back of High Point, tied with Liberty and going ahead on the tiebreaker.
RPI: 102
SOS: 258
Record: 24-8 (15-5 Big South)
Good wins: Maybe St. Louis? And though they lost to South Carolina, they stayed very competitive.
Bad losses: At Gardner-Webb.
Who's driving this thing? Kevin Cook, since 2012. Part of the Houston Comets dynasty. (He always seems to pop up somewhere!)
Extra, Extra! The Herald.
Senior guard Dequesha McClanahan brought home her third straight Big South POY award this year, leading the Eagles with 17.4 points, 6.6 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. She gets strong support from sophomore center Schaquilla Nunn (11.3 points, 10.2 rebounds, and one would imagine a chip on her shoulder for a mere honorable mention) and freshman forward Erica Williams (15.5 points).
Random thing that intrigues me: they don't take a lot of threes, do they? And they don't hit a lot of them, do they?