Deana McCormick hated to lose (and usually didn't)

eana McCormick doesn't try to hide her competitive nature.

"I don't like to lose," she says.

She catches herself and amends her words with a pugnacious stance.

"I hate losing."

Her words match her actions.

During McCormick's four years as the starting center, Notre Dame's loss total dwindled each year as it won four district championships. The Bulldogs went 78-12 over her final three years and 56-6 over the last two. She finished her career as the school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder.

But the highlight came last weekend when the Bulldogs tracked down their first Class 2A state championship, completing a 29-2 season. Part of a talented Notre Dame team that included all-stater Lisa Millham and her younger sister Ashley, McCormick was in the thick of both victories.

While Notre Dame wore blue uniforms in its 41-39 semifinal victory over defending state champion Stockton and white in a 65-55 victory over Elsberry in the championship, the blonde-haired McCormick also sported a deeper-than-normal shade of pink in her cheeks.

"She was determined," Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim said. "That's what she was."

Determined not to lose.

She saved her best for last. Averaging 14.3 points and 7.3 rebounds through the season, McCormick averaged 19.5 points and 12 rebounds in the two victories that clinched the title.

She scored the game-winner with two second left against Stockton, a team that thwarted Notre Dame in last year's championship game. She endured game-long foul problems against Elsberry to score a team-high 20 points and pull down 10 rebounds, seven on the offensive end.

At 6-foot, McCormick fit nicely into the role of center on a team that had strong position players. The Bulldogs had it all, from a sure-handed point guard in senior Courtney Vickery, to sharp-shooting forwards Lisa and Ashley Millham, to an athletic defender in Ali Tyson to a deep bench.

While Stockton and Elsberry had some of the same ingredients, neither had a 6-foot player that could match McCormick's aggressive, blue-collar style on the inside.

"It's her demeanor on the floor that really is more valuable than anything else she does," Grim said. "Because she is a power to be reckoned with in the paint.

"She's a big teddy bear," Grim added. "Deana is a kind person, but when she steps out on that floor, the aggressiveness comes out of her. She's out there to play a game and she gives it everything she's got from the time she steps out on the floor to the time she comes off."

McCormick typified a team work ethic that Grim often raved about. Along with the aggressive play were polished moves that helped her shoot 67 percent from the field.

"Her work ethic is matched by none," Grim said. "If she's having problems with something, she'll stay until she gets it corrected."

After struggling from the free-throw line in a comfortable quarterfinal victory over John Burroughs, McCormick stayed after practice for an hour each day to shore up the problem prior to going to Columbia.

A 70-percent free throw shooter on the season, she hit 11 of 13 in the final two games, including all six of her attempts in the championship game. With the Bulldogs trying to hold off Elsberry to claim the title, she swished through four attempts inside the final two minutes to help seal the win.

"We knew what we wanted and we knew how to get there," McCormick said. "We worked hard."

Her four-year journey in blue and white left a lesson on McCormick.

"It definitely takes a team to win," she said. "I'm going to miss my teammates a lot."

She is being recruited by several colleges and will undoubtedly play somewhere next season.

As for that memorable weekend ...

"It was the most nerve-racking weekend of my entire life," McCormick said. "I knew it was my last chance to win a state championship and that definitely put some pressure on me. I definitely put pressure on myself our last games. It's a good way to close the year."

And a high school career.

jbreer@semissourian.com

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