300!
Scheve reaches milestone at WC

January 25, 2006

As an associate professor of accounting at Wilmington College, Jerry Scheve knows numbers like the back of his hand. As WC's head women's basketball coach, though, he doesn't self-indulge in the process of counting wins. Never has. Never will. Even after the Lady Quakers gave Scheve career win No. 300 with a victory over Muskingum Wednesday, he deflected the attention heaped upon him as if it were a post-entry pass in the final seconds of a tight game. Arriving at the 300-win plateau was a pleasure, he said, but the journey is clearly his passion.

"Winning is important, but I can still remember the year (1994) we were 0-10 to start the season and finished 8-17. I enjoyed that season as much, if not more, than some of the years we were very successful," said Scheve, now in his 16th year at WC. "Our kids continued to work hard and got better as the season wore on. When they finally broke through with a win, they started gaining confidence. They believed in each other. We were all in it together and striving to get better. That's what you do, no matter what team you have."

Scheve's first win at WC came in the 1990-91 season opener, an 81-71 victory over Ohio Wesleyan University. The coach, a self-described person of the here and now, offered his recollections — with the help of the Lady Quakers Media Guide — on the win over the Battling Bishops 16 years in the past.

"All I can remember about that game was they had a kid that could not go left whatsoever. Our whole game plan was to force her left," Scheve said. "That's all I can remember about that game, except that we won."

And win .... and win ... and win ... the Lady Quakers have done under Scheve's leadership. Nine 20-win seasons. Thirteen regular-season and conference tournament championships. Four NCAA National Tournament appearances that included trips to the "Elite Eight" and "Sweet 16" in 2002 and 2003, respectively. In 2004, Scheve's journey within a journey culminated with the NCAA national championship as the Lady Quakers took down No. 1 Bowdoin College, 59-53.

"The national championship game is the game I've seen the most," Scheve said. "Obviously, in terms of achievement it was our biggest win. It's a tape we've shown to recruits for two years, so I get a constant reminder of that game. I always thought, up until the last couple years, that our 107-94 win at Shawnee State in the (1991) NAIA District semifinals was the best game I've ever had a team play. We set a pretty high standard that day. And there's been a lot of other good ones in between."

In the win over Shawnee State, WC's all-time scoring leader Suzanne Coyne set the program's single-game scoring record with 40 points. Coyne is one of 10 All-Americans to play for Scheve at WC. Coyne (1991, 1992), Jenny Eagan (1996), Josie Eilerman (1999, 2000), Heather Meranda (2000), Megan Woodruff (2003), Tara Rausch (2003, 2004) and Siobhan Zerilla (2005) were among the nation's best players on one of the nation's best teams.

We've been fortunate to have had a lot of good people come to Wilmington College. Not just good players, but good people, good students. We've had Academic All-Americans, and I am as proud of that as any our accomplishments on the basketball court," Scheve said. "Some of the players, like Jenny Eagan and Megan Woodruff, made me a better coach. When Jenny came here, we were kind of at our low point. During her sophomore year, we made her a captain because of her leadership abilities. Over the next three years is when we really got the program turned around. A big reason for that was her doing. There's a lot of things our captains today think are rules from me that were really rules that Jenny Eagan passed down as a captain 10 years ago.

"Megan is someone who will always be special. I knew her from the age of 8 or 9. When she came here I really wasn't sure how good she was going to be. I knew how hard she was going to work. Her hard work really paid off for her and our team. She was easily the hardest working player I've ever had."

Scheve's 300th win at WC may have been his 500th or 600th lifetime victory, if only he had been counting. From eighth-grade boys hoops to CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) ball to the girls program at Purcell Marian High School to Wilmington College, Scheve's teams have reflected his hard-working style that more often than not produces victories.

With their winning approach, the Lady Quakers have earned the adoration of the greater Wilmington community. The support has not been lost on either Scheve or his players.

"It's nice. Women's basketball, in general, is not a sport that typically a community gets behind," Scheve said. "To have the support we've had over the last several years is gratifying. It kind of perpetuates itself. It makes it easier to win when you have people who are behind you and supporting you. When we go on the road, we know there's a group of people from this community that will be there to follow us. Our players appreciate that support. I appreciate that support."

How many more wins await Scheve at WC? He declined the offer to forecast — something about the here and now. But there was a game Saturday at Mount Union that he seemed keenly interested in.