By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
Springfield College women’s basketball head coach Naomi Graves earned her 600th career win at home on Feb. 22 against Emerson, marking yet another milestone for Graves in her highly successful career.
Graves, who just wrapped up her 34th season as the Pride’s head coach, became the 13th active Division III women’s basketball coach to reach 600 wins. For Graves, some other festivities going on during the game made the moment even sweeter.
For one, that afternoon against Emerson was the Pride’s Senior Day, where forwards Angie Czeremcha and Lindsey Laughlan were honored pregame. Graves was thrilled to see them get recognized.
“The fact that I got to do it when two players were playing their last home game, at least we thought at that point it was their last home game, was amazing,” Graves said. “Lindsey and Angie have been the pinnacle of work ethic and commitment to our program, so that meant a lot.”
It was also the team’s “Pink Day,” a celebration of breast cancer awareness. This is a cause that is near and dear to Graves, a survivor of breast cancer herself. The game and all that it entailed for her and her team gave Graves the chance to reflect on her battle with the disease, and the devastation it still causes.
“I think the significance of Breast Cancer Awareness Day, obviously I’m a survivor, so that has always been a moment where it’s a nice check that I’m blessed to be healthy,” Graves said. “There are people out there getting diagnosed, and hopefully more people are having early detections.”
Graduate assistant coach Alexis Castro summed up what the milestone – and the game as a whole – meant for everyone involved.
“The team was really excited, not only for the W, but also for Coach to get this on Senior Day, on Pink Day, which is really to honor her as well, because she is a breast cancer survivor,” Castro said. “It just kind of all came together. Nothing else could be more perfect than that day.”
Castro said that the other coaches were aware Graves was closing in on 600 wins a few games before she ultimately got there. The day before the contest against Emerson, Graves’ fellow coaches stressed to the team the importance of winning that game.
“That’s why it was so crucial, not only for us for the playoffs, but also for Coach Graves to reach her milestone,” Castro said.
The coaches and players were prepared for Graves to hit the historic mark. They had prepared posters and flowers as part of their planned celebration. As the clock winded down on Springfield’s 70-40 win, it was time to celebrate.
“Once we got close to it, had seen that lead, we were like, ‘Wow, this is really going to happen.’ We were super excited,” Castro said.
For Graves, she wasn’t exactly sure when she would notch her 600th win, but she knew she was approaching the mark. Either way, she agrees with Castro that it couldn’t have played out any better.
“In hindsight, if I had to plan the scenario, I would have wanted it to be just like it was,” Graves said. “We won significantly, we played the best we played all season, we acknowledged our seniors, there was a great energy amongst the crowd and it was [at] home. It was a special moment.”
In the time Graves earned her 600th win, she has reflected on her career and her peers of past and present. One common theme that has emerged from recalling these memories is an appreciation for the people that make her job more enjoyable.
“When I think back, I think about all the other players that were in my program, all the GAs that had worked hard for us to be successful, everyone around me who makes me better,” Graves said. “[Assistant coach] Bob [Accorsi], my support staff in the hallway. I think about others and how lucky I’ve been and how blessed I’ve been to be in a position at Springfield College to be successful.”
“I’ve coached a lot of great people [who] turned out, more importantly, to be great individuals and making a mark in their careers, and my GAs have been amazing and have stepped out and done great things in coaching,” Graves added. “So I feel like it’s not just me, it’s about everybody, and I couldn’t have done it without everybody. They had a piece of this 600 for sure.”
To Castro, Graves has served as a role model on and off the court as she’s developed throughout her coaching career. Seeing Graves hit this milestone is a meaningful moment for Castro, as it is for the rest of the team and many others on Springfield College’s campus.
“She’s been such a great mentor to me, and I’m sure the other staff would say the same,” Castro said. “I was just extremely happy for her, and she is definitely somebody that deserves that milestone.”
“She’s done a lot here at Springfield College and done a lot for me personally, with basketball but also off the court as well, just teaching me about life in general, how to handle things when things get tough,” Castro said. “To be recognized as somebody in history at Springfield College, to reach that milestone is amazing, and there’s no other person that deserves it more than Coach Graves.”
(Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics)