Ex-Raider Helps Put Army in NCAAs

Leonardtown Grad's Foul Shot Makes History for Cadets

Leonardtown graduate Stefanie Stone helped lead Army to its first NCAA tournament berth this season, averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Last year she appeared in just one game for the Black Knights. (Photo Courtesy Of Stockton Photography)

No one epitomizes the turnaround of the Army women's basketball team more than former Leonardtown standout Stefanie Stone. As a freshman last season, Stone played in one game for one minute. This season, she not only started every game, but she also was the hero of Army's biggest win -- a 69-68 victory over Holy Cross in the Patriot League tournament final.

Stone made the game-winning free throw with less than nine seconds remaining to earn the Black Knights their first Patriot League tournament title and an automatic NCAA tournament bid. It's the first NCAA appearance for Army's men's or women's teams. The 15th-seeded Black Knights (19-10) play No. 2 seed Tennessee (28-4) on Sunday in a first-round game in Norfolk.

"It's just been amazing," Stone said last week by phone from West Point, N.Y. "I don't even know if it's really sunken in yet."

Defending champion Holy Cross had won 10 of the past 15 Patriot League tournaments, but Army's win on March 8 was no fluke -- the Black Knights also beat the Crusaders twice during the regular season. In the championship game, Stone scored 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, made three steals and blocked a shot. Her late-game steal capped the Black Knights' 11-point second-half rally and sent Stone to the free throw line with 8.8 seconds remaining. With the score tied at 68, she missed the first foul shot.

"I was pretty nervous," said Stone, a 75 percent free throw shooter. "I was shaking. But I just calmed down, took a deep breath, and [told myself], 'You're going to make this one.' "

Stone's second free throw dropped through, igniting a wild celebration by the Cadets. When the clock expired, they stormed West Point's Christl Arena court, lifting the players and first-year coach Maggie Dixon onto their shoulders.

The victory capped a remarkable run for Army. The Black Knights, who went 15-13 last season, won the Patriot League regular season and tournament titles for the first time in their 16 years in the conference. It was only their third appearance in the championship game and first 20-win season since 1991.

The catalyst for this transformation is Dixon, who arrived at West Point less than two weeks before the start of practice. With little time to prepare, Dixon didn't waste a moment. She told the players she had started to watch game film from the previous season, then stopped. She didn't want to base any of her decisions on what had happened in the past. Instead, it was up to them to show her what they were capable of, and no one benefited more from this approach than Stone.

"Stefanie really set the tone in practice early," Dixon said. "That's the reason she earned a starting spot. She just worked so hard, competed so hard."

Stone blossomed into one of Army's top players. She is the third-leading scorer at 9.5 points per game and top rebounder at 5.5 rebounds per game. She makes a team-high 58 percent of her shots. Her best game came in Army's 75-60 victory over Lafayette on Jan. 25, when she scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for her second double-double.

"She became kind of a go-to player there for a while, and defenses started to adjust to her," Dixon said. "That's frustrating for someone who hasn't dealt with that before. She's done a really good job of fighting through that."

Stone, who attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School before going to West Point, became interested in the school as a result of teammate Ashley Magnani, a senior forward from Great Mills. At first she was a little hesitant about attending a military academy, but she has since developed a strong attachment to the place.

"I got caught up in the whole thing," she said. "The academy is just a great place to be."

And apparently, West Point has become caught up in Stone and her teammates. The day after the win against Holy Cross, the team walked through the mess hall, and when the other cadets spotted them, they all stood and applauded.

"The atmosphere right now is absolutely amazing," Stone said. "Everybody is just really excited for us. It is something that hasn't happened here at all before. It's just an amazing feeling."