Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

If I could use one word to describe our two senior leaders, the word Toughness comes to mind. Both have strong determination to be successful and love the game of basketball so much that they will do anything for their team to be successful. In today’s society a lot of people talk about how high school students and others will not fight through adversity and will “back down” when the going gets tough. Well these two are the polar opposite!

Courtney Euerle may be the hardest working post player in our league. She runs harder and plays harder on every single possession in practice and in games than anyone else in our league. There was one practice her sophomore year where she worked so hard throughout the entire practice that when it came time for conditioning, her body was literally shaking to the point where she could barely stand.  Physically her body was telling her she should stop but mentally she refused to quit.  In addition to showing her teammates her toughness, a positive in that experience is that it taught Courtney to better prepare herself with her nutrition, hydration, and better sleep habits to prevent that from happening again in the future! ? That story is just one example of how she wouldn’t let anything stop her from being the hardest worker on the court.

Darcey has displayed a very similar toughness.  Due to Darcey’s no excuse mentality, most people (including most of her teammates) don’t know she played most of her junior year with a fractured pinky on her shooting hand, and to her credit, she didn’t miss a beat. There was also an example of a practice earlier this year where Darcey’s foot was really bothering her.  It was bothering her so much so that Coach F. approached me and asked me if I know what is wrong with Darcey. I hadn’t noticed anything so she asked me to keep an eye on her. Well, I could instantly read the look on Darcey’s face that she was fighting back tears and could barely push off of her sore foot. As I approached her and told her to sit out and see our trainer, she responded with, “I just didn’t want to sit out – my team doesn’t have enough subs.” 

To go along with their toughness on the basketball court, both Courtney and Darcey have been tremendous leaders in our program. They have amazing, unselfish attitudes and it has been an absolute joy to coach both of them. They treat everyone around them very well and are well respected by their teammates, their coaching staff and the Saint Mary’s community. I will miss them both very much and know they will both go on to lead very successful lives after college! Their personalities, work ethic and their high character ensures successful futures for both of them! Your team will miss you and your coaching staff appreciates everything you have given to this program as well as what your parents have done for this program. You’ve shown great leadership, have worked extremely hard, have been great example for everyone of what it truly takes to be successful and have made us all laugh a lot along the way. THANK YOU!

Courtney Euerle is one of the wittiest people I have ever been around, and as a coach, I recognize that I do not get to even experience half of it. I think she gets this from her parents ? She is always making people laugh. In her four years at SMU, I am pretty sure almost every time she sent either Coach F. or myself an email, something in the email made us smile or laugh. Courtney is very kind hearted and has a way of making all people feel very comfortable around her. Her work ethic, determination, toughness, humor, trustworthiness, humbleness and personality have made her a very strong leader in our program! To explain how great of a person she is, when my little cousin was sick, our family held a benefit for her. Courtney Euerle and last year’s senior (Brittany Begrowicz) attended the benefit and said hello to Kennedy.  When I ask Kennedy who her favorite Cardinal is, it is always Courtney Euerle (sorry Britt). Courtney is involved in many things at Saint Mary’s and is always willing to help out a teammate or her coaching staff when we need something. We will all miss her, and I really appreciate everything you have done for our program! Good luck in your future as I know you will have a lot of success. Thank you to Courtney’s parents and family for being so supportive to our Cardinal Family as well! I will miss seeing you at all of the games.

Darcey Rice was a great addition to our program. In the recruiting process, I was not able to talk her into visiting campus her senior year of high school and was very sad about it! However, I became very excited when I learned she had filled out a release form and was interested in talking to our coaching staff about transferring to Saint Mary’s. I am even happier that she made the decision to become a Cardinal!    Transferring from one school to another and fitting in can be a difficult thing to do, and to Darcey’s credit, she worked her way right into our family.  I am sure it was tough at first; I even remember her saying that she “kind of felt like a freshman.”  None the less, our team loved her right away!  She fit in extremely well with our team on and off the basketball court immediately because of her personality, humble attitude and her work ethic. Darcey quickly developed into a leader in our program, and it was a no brainer to name her and Courtney co-captains of this year’s team! Darcey is a fun loving person who may believe anything you tell her ? The phrase, “Oh really, are you serious?!” came out of her mouth quite often when our coaching staff was joking with her! Darcey quickly evolved into a leader that our coaching staff and team trusted and believed in. Darcey is a great person, who works extremely hard and had great determination to help our team be successful. In what seems like two very short years, I am extremely happy for the opportunity to coach Darcey and appreciate all of the positive impacts she has had on our team! Best of luck in the future, I know you will be extremely successful. A special thanks to her parents as well! We appreciate how supportive you have been through Darcey’s two years as a Cardinal!