For Macalester’s Women’s Basketball team, every tip-off means showtime. It’s a word the coaching staff chose as emblematic of the season, and it’s one the players have embraced in turn.
“Our players have put so much work in, you know?” Head Coach Katie Kollar explained. “And I think about how appreciative I am to our seniors in particular, who, for four years, have shown up and put so much work in, all the way down to our rookies.”
The team has five seniors whose college careers culminate this season. They’re cruising into the MIAC conference campaign with a 5-3 record. The season’s focus could easily be gunning for an impressive record to polish off their four years.
This team wants more than that.
“Obviously we want to win, we want to compete. We want to be good. We’re a really competitive team this year,” Peyton Starks ’25 explained. But their goals run deeper than a win-loss record, as Starks continued,“You remember the wins and losses, but you remember those feelings and off the court memories even more. And so I want to be intentional about creating those for myself and everybody else.”
Records weren’t the goal when Starks reached the 1000 point milestone last season. She was surprised at how the crowd erupted on what she had thought was just another jump shot. This focus on process is consistent throughout the team.
“We are not focused on those outcomes, to be honest,” Katherine Norquist ’25 said, referring to the team’s record “We’re focused on getting better every day — and I know that’s a cliché, but it’s actually true. It robs us of our experience every day if we’re just focused on whether we won or lost the last game or whether we win or lose the next game. [The focus is] how can we compete each day to get better and have fun and make sure that our preparation is what shows in the next competition.”
Norquist has started every game she’s played at Mac. And she’s played in nearly every game.
“I think this group is really special,” she said. “When we’re on the court, we’re playing together in a way that’s really encouraging to me, and we’re getting better game to game at the things we want to get better at. We have a growth mindset that’s really fun to be around and fun to be a part of.”
The team’s community isn’t only apparent to the seniors.
First-year Samantha Smith ’28 found the team to be dedicated to each other and to the game. Some teams work well together but aren’t friends off the court. Here, Smith says teammates are both.
“I think everybody’s really supportive of one another … Without the basketball, we’re all still really good friends. And I think I’ve had a lot of teams [where] we’re good teammates, but maybe not friends. [But at Mac] everyone on the team really likes being around each other.”
Kollar sees this from the coaching perspective as well. “The energy that they give off in practice is real, authentic joy and fun,” she said. “It means that I enjoy walking into the gym. And I think once they get there, they probably do too. So I think that’s been really special and I think that’s been a really big piece of this year and what [the team’s] identity looks like.”
The seniors are a close group. Four live together, with the fifth just down the block. And they set the tone for the rest of the team.
Starks explained what it means to be a senior, “I just feel a greater sense of responsibility for everyone. I mean, I was lucky; the seniors who came before me were so great … I’ve been trying to emulate them as best as I can, to be supportive and helpful to the first-years. I’m a big lead-by-example kind of gal, so I just try to show them what it looks like to work hard, be a good teammate, support one another, be kind.”
Smith’s favorite memory of the season so far was karaoke during the team’s van ride to Iowa. Norquist recalls exploring St. Louis during a tournament in Missouri. Starks remembers the post-game milkshakes celebrating their exhibition game against DI St. Thomas, despite the 84-43 loss.
Every member of the team has made Kollar laugh. “Every practice, there’s been some sort of moment that just brings a pure sense of joy to me,” she said.
The team’s joy doesn’t quench their competitiveness. They know they can win. They know they can fight to the end of hard games.
They don’t just want to win: they want to play well and be proud of the process. “We might win a game, but if we shot terribly, that’s not helpful,” Starks said.
Kollar will be proud of the team no matter a game’s outcome — all she asks for is effort. “You can’t fake working hard … You can’t substitute the hours that they put in.”
There’s always some pressure when a season has so many seniors. For Kollar, she feels pressure because she believes in them, “I’m nervous because I just want them to play well, but I’m excited because I know that they can.”
Norquist has a clear message for Macalester as the team faces down a competitive conference:
“Our motto is showtime. So come see us play.”
