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Craig Mattick:
Welcome to another edition of In Play. I'm Craig Mattick. Girls basketball in South Dakota saw its first state basketball tournament in 1975. In Class B, a small town in extreme southeast South Dakota dominated the class, winning four titles in the first five years of being sanctioned.
Today's guest was the point guard on a team which won three state titles in a row. Went on to have a great college career. Also saw success as a college basketball coach. From being a sophomore and going through college, she won 82% of the games she played in. She had a record of 155 and 34. The Jefferson Hawkette, the University of South Dakota Coyote, and the former coach of the University of Sioux Falls. It's Katie Dailey. Katie, welcome to In Play.
Katie Dailey:
Craig, thank you so much. It brings back a lot of memories, that's for sure.
Craig Mattick:
It's 1975. It's the first sanctioned girls state basketball tournament. Jefferson wins the title, the great Fred Tibbetts is the coach. I think you're about a seventh grader at that time, as Jefferson beat Mobridge to win their very first title. What was that like, watching Jefferson win that title as a youngster?
Katie Dailey:
Well, first of all, Fred started us really early. He got an intramural program started for us when we were in fifth grade. So seventh grade, it was watching those ladies that we all wanted to look up to when we were in Jefferson, being able to go to the state tournament, and watching them win to the state tournament, you just wanted to keep doing it. So luckily for us, I was in the realm of we got to keep doing it.
Craig Mattick:
You love sports growing up, Katie. You were involved with multiple sports, softball and track and volleyball, but was basketball your favorite sport?
Katie Dailey:
It probably was. I really liked playing anything. Basketball we were very successful in. So anytime you're successful, I was going to push a little bit more in that sport.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you didn't have the internet. There was no cell phones back in the '70s. So what kept you busy after school and during the summer?
Katie Dailey:
Well, at that time, we played softball in the summer. Of course, we played in a women's league in Vermillion, so it wasn't even anything like that they have now. But Fred was very adamant that we got into the gym. So every Tuesday, Thursday, there was open gym, and the expectation was that you were there if you wanted to play the next season.
Craig Mattick:
Was your family pretty supportive of you being involved in sports pretty much every month of the year?
Katie Dailey:
It is so funny for you to say that because now they travel all over the place. They go to Florida to play in California, and needless to say, the farthest we went was for basketball camp. We went to the USD camp. We went to Mount Marty's camp, and we went to Arlington, South Dakota to camp. So our travel was a little bit different than what they're doing today, but I was lucky. I have two older sisters, they both played basketball. I have a younger brother that was, he wasn't much into the basketball scene, but he was on cross country and the track team, played football his senior year. So my mom and dad were on the road most of the time.
Craig Mattick:
Where was the favorite spot to shoot baskets for you?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I grew up on a farm. We had a chicken coop that burnt down, so it had a cement pad, and my dad put up a basketball hoop there. My brother was nice enough to come out and shoot with me. So that's where I did most of my shooting. And of course, like I said, every Tuesday, Thursday, we were in the gym. There it was the guys and the gals. It was open gym for everybody. So you got up to the line, you shot a free throw line, and it didn't matter who made it, if it was the guy or a gal. That's whose team you were on, and Poppy went to play five and five.
Craig Mattick:
So you're a seventh grader, you're shooting baskets, you're playing pickup games, you become an eighth grader. When did you see this skill set change for you coming, from maybe someone who couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, to be able to pass behind your back or dribble and all that kind of stuff?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I don't know if I ever passed behind my back, but nice thing is Fred was a fast-paced, running gun type of coach, so I didn't have to have the ball in my hands very long. I got to get [inaudible 00:05:42] and get it up court. But my freshman year, I was lucky enough, the first game of the season I started. We played Sioux Falls Lincoln, and they had two gals that they were twins, 5' 10", I believe they were. When I started my freshman year, I was 4' 11". Needless to say, I didn't start after that, but it was a great learning experience and went on to some fun years.
Craig Mattick:
Well, Jefferson wins the title in '75. In '76, actually, it's Clear Lake and the Hawkettes in the title.
Katie Dailey:
Yeah, we were runners up that year.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah, Clear Lake won that game by four. What do you remember about that game?
Katie Dailey:
All I remember is I cried afterwards because I couldn't believe we lost. I wasn't on the team. I just got to sit and watch. My older sister was on the team, and I knew that I didn't want that feeling again. Needless to say, my freshman year, Irene beat us out to make it into the state tournament. Cried that game, too, at the end of that game, and luckily it was more happy tears after that for three years.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you're right, the next three years, Jefferson is the dominant team in Class B. What prepared you to become the point guard for Fred Tibbetts?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I think hard work, not that the other girls didn't work hard, but I think I had a good connection with Coach Tibbetts. I knew what his expectations were, and I was lucky enough to be athletic enough to show him what I could do on the floor, I guess.
Craig Mattick:
Well, most of us have followed the career of Fred Tibbetts, of course at Jefferson, Sioux Falls Roosevelt, University of South Dakota. You mentioned, and we all know, Fred wanted that up-tempo game, even faster than teams were accustomed to. And of course, he was animated on the sideline, but yet giving hugs coming off the court. So what kind of coach was Fred in his early years as a coach with you there at Jefferson?
Katie Dailey:
I think probably the biggest thing, Fred knew the different reactions that his players would have when he talked to him. So it could be positive, it could be negative. There'd be some players that couldn't handle him yelling at him, so he would find people that be a little more aggressive with, I would say. I don't know about aggressive, but a pass would go off somebody's hand, and I would get yelled, little things like that, but I think that made our team stronger.
Craig Mattick:
1978, you're a sophomore, and you get to the state tournament, and you get into the finals, and you Highmore. It's not a game at all. It's what, 54 to 19. You win the title as a sophomore. What was that game like for you?
Katie Dailey:
Well, number one, we won, so we can't really complain. Number two, though, is I think we averaged close to 80 points a game, so hats off to Highmore because they knew how to slow the ball down for us. And they came back my senior year and did that same thing, and it was a low-scoring game that year, too.
Craig Mattick:
Yep. Yes, it was. But 1979, you beat Clear Lake. It's a classic overtime game, 57-56. What do you remember, that second title that you won with Jefferson?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I remember the gym being packed. We had one area that had orange and black in it, and everybody else was cheering for Clear Lake because they didn't want Jefferson to win. Robin Anderson, of course, she was one outstanding player and the rest of their team, too. They wouldn't have been there if not, but it was a fun game. Needless to say, I fouled out in the regulation, so I get to watch overtime play from the bench.
Craig Mattick:
Who were some of the other great players that you played with during those championship years at Jefferson?
Katie Dailey:
When we started here, I've been extremely lucky as far as basketball is concerned. You go from Carla Kittler to Charlie Porter, and Amy Allard, and we had the Bernard girls and Ann Crevier and Renee LaCroix. You just go down the line. My sister was a year older than me. I was lucky enough to play with her. You just go down the line of all the good athletes that we had in Jefferson.
Craig Mattick:
It was either the state basketball tournament in 1978 or '79, I don't remember, but Jefferson played McLaughlin. May have been the first round, you played them, and you played McLaughlin. They had a pretty good player in Dawn Schaeffer, who would become Dawn Seiler and become the all-time winningest girls basketball coach in the state. What do you remember about playing Dawn in McLaughlin?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I know it was my sophomore year. I know that more than likely they should have beat us. I think they were up by seven with about three minutes left in the game, and we put a press on them, ended up beating them. I just know it was a fun game for us to play along with the crowd to watch as well.
Craig Mattick:
And who would've known you two became eventually you became coaches? How about that?
Katie Dailey:
I know.
Craig Mattick:
Who would've thought?
Katie Dailey:
Who would've thought?
Craig Mattick:
1980, though, it's a big year for Jefferson, the Hawkettes. You're a senior, you've won the last two state titles. You had a 67-game win streak going on. When did that winning streak, by the way, come to an end?
Katie Dailey:
Of course, I'm sure a lot of people, if you were following girls basketball then, you were at the game. Seemed like everybody was. We played Sioux Falls Washington. They were number one in Class A and we were number one in Class B. I remember trying to take the ball out bounds, and the ref would have to have people move their legs so I could step out of bounds. It was a fun game. Needless to say, they broke our win streak and maybe just by 10.
Craig Mattick:
As a senior, you averaged 12 points a game, but you also had a 125 steals, 125 assists. Now Katie, you were known more about your assists and steals than scoring.
Katie Dailey:
I was.
Craig Mattick:
But who were the ones that were getting the scoring done for you in that senior year, even though you were in double digits that senior year?
Katie Dailey:
Sure. Amy Allard, JoElle [inaudible 00:13:03] was our post player. Carla Kittler was one of our wing players. Wording is so different now, but I think they were our main scorers, and that was fine with me. Fred gave us each a role on the team, and my role was not to score. My main focus was not that I needed to just score. It was to get the ball to our players, and that's what I tried to do.
Craig Mattick:
You were a very aggressive player. How many times did you foul out?
Katie Dailey:
I forgot that stat. I don't know. I'm sure too many, one against Robin Anderson playing Clear Lake, but I do remember that one.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you guys make it to the championship game for the third year in a row. It's 1980, and here comes Highmore again, the team you beat in the championships just two years before. It was 54 to 19 that year, but this time you win 36 to 10. There was no shot clock back then, and Highmore was trying to take advantage of that, weren't they?
Katie Dailey:
They sure were. Yeah, they did a great job. They slowed the ball down. We tried to press them. They handled that. Yeah, they had a great plan, and they took advantage of it.
Craig Mattick:
But you guys had a pretty good defense, too, if you're only giving up 10 points.
Katie Dailey:
Yeah, we did. Needless to say, once again, I think we averaged about 80 points for them to hold us to 33, or 36, whichever what it was. They did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game that game.
Craig Mattick:
Katie, what were your emotions after winning that third straight title and knowing that your high school career was done?
Katie Dailey:
I guess probably the biggest thing was is how lucky I was. Not too many people can say that they've been to the state tournament, let alone win three of them. So once again, I was very blessed when it came to basketball and the other athletic events that I was in at Jefferson. I was lucky enough to have some great athletes that were in the school at that time, and I knew that I wanted to go on and play college ball, so I didn't think my basketball career was over, just my high school one was.
Craig Mattick:
Well, college did come calling, and you chose the University of South Dakota. Of course, USD was just moving to NCAA Division Two at the time. Mary Zimmerman was the coach. What intrigued you about USD?
Katie Dailey:
Well, actually, I knew I wanted to go into elementary ed, and I had gone to visit SDSU. And at that time, their program was a three-year program. I would've had to transfer out to do my student teaching, and that kind of swayed my decision to go to USD.
Craig Mattick:
So that freshman year that you play Coyotes go, what, 14 and 10, but two future Coyote Hall of Famers, both freshmen, it was you and Ann Pancoast from Sioux Falls, both were guards. How did you two complement each other for the Coyotes?
Katie Dailey:
I think our work ethic was about the same. We came from two very successful high school programs, so we knew what it would take to win. And of course, Anne was a shooter, and my job was to get her the ball, so it made it pretty easy for me.
Craig Mattick:
So it's 1982, your sophomore year at USD. Boy, a lot of changes that year because the Coyotes joined the North Central Conference that year and a brand new coach, Chad Lavin. What was the change like for you at that time?
Katie Dailey:
It was a great change in the fact that he had the same style as Coach Tibbetts had, and he liked to put a lot of pressure on defense and wanted to push the ball offensively. So it was a system that I was very comfortable moving into.
Craig Mattick:
Hey, you guys made it to the North Central region in St. Cloud that year, but you lost to Texas A&M Kingsville. What do you remember about that game?
Katie Dailey:
That we were really disappointed we lost. I think that was one of those games that if we would've been at the top of our game, we could have went even further, and that didn't happen.
Craig Mattick:
Well, it did the next year. Because in 1983, you had a better record in the North Central Conference. You had a better record overall. You beat North Dakota up in Grand Forks for the North Central region and then, just in fact, you'd lost to them, I believe, a couple of days before that.
Katie Dailey:
We did.
Craig Mattick:
And then a couple of days later, you earned the region championship against St. Cloud, but you lost by 11. What happened?
Katie Dailey:
They scored more points than us.
Craig Mattick:
Were they the better team? I think were ranked a little bit, too.
Katie Dailey:
Yeah, in fact, I think that it came down to the two of us to win the conference that year, and we ended up beating UND, and that's how we won the conference. And they were a good team, a well-coached team. They had a veteran coach there, and I can't think of her name right now, but they were a well-rounded team, and they got the best of us that night, and we knew we had to go back the next year and see if we could do something better.
Craig Mattick:
Well, eventually, yeah, your senior year, again, a better record for the Coyotes in the NCC and overall. You're back in the North Central region tournament, but this time it's being held in Vermillion, and it's against St. Cloud State. What was the atmosphere like for that game?
Katie Dailey:
We played inside in the dome, so a little bit different atmosphere is what they play with now, but the place was packed. We were lucky we always got some great support from our students and from Vermillion and other USD alums. The place was packed and it was a thriller.
Craig Mattick:
Katie, almost 40 years later after playing at USD, do you know that you are still number one all-time at USD in career assists? 665 assists. You still have 37 more than number two, Nicole Seecamp, and you're still number one all-time, Katie, in career steals, 304. That's 39 more than Nicole Seecamp. I don't think those records will ever be broken there, Katie.
Katie Dailey:
Well, records are there to get broken, so one never knows, but that just says a lot for my teammates. I couldn't have those assist if they weren't making the baskets. I wouldn't have the steals if they weren't there to back me up either. Once again, I was blessed not only in high school but in college, had some great players to play with and was lucky enough to win three state tournaments and three conference championships.
Craig Mattick:
You had eight steals in one game. Do you remember that game?
Katie Dailey:
No. That was 40 years ago, Craig.
Craig Mattick:
Well, you constantly had steals, so I can see where seven, six, five steals in a game, eight, that's no big deal. You were inducted into the USD Coyote Hall of Fame in 1999, same year along with your teammate Ann Pancoast. How special was that?
Katie Dailey:
It was night to remember. It's interesting. Ann and I actually were on a recruiting trip, both at Iowa State, and ran into each other, didn't know each other very well, but happened to be there the same day. Two weeks later, we both signed to go to USD, so it was meant to be. It was enjoyable to play with her all four year.
Craig Mattick:
So Katie, after college, after all those years of playing basketball, you still did not want to leave the game. What happened after USD and eventually the move into coaching?
Katie Dailey:
Sure. Well, I actually went on and was an elementary teacher and a high school coach. I taught and coached a couple years in Watertown, South Dakota. And then I was in a small town in Iowa, Anthon-Oto, for seven years and was an elementary teacher and high school coach there. Robin Schamber was the head coach out at Black Hills State, and she convinced me to go out there and get my master's, so I did that. So I was under her for three years as an assistant coach, and lucky enough got a head job here in Sioux Falls at the University of Sioux Falls.
Craig Mattick:
So you became the head women's coach for the Cougars. How did that process all work out?
Katie Dailey:
Well, we had some pretty successful years, so happy that I ended up going and having the opportunity to coach there.
Craig Mattick:
You were in high school, coaching basketball there, and then you go to college, and that position is completely different, with recruiting and everything. What was the biggest challenge or the biggest thing that you had to get accustomed to moving to the college ranks?
Katie Dailey:
At the college level, you need to bring in the best players that you can. And it's not just the players that can play basketball that can be successful in the classroom, get along with their teammates, and that's how you can build a strong fundamental program all around. I think Robin and I did a great job at that at Black Hills State, and recruiting was not always fun. Even when I got to USF, you're on the road a lot.you're in a gym a lot. But luckily, I had some very high talented young ladies that came to USF to play for me.
Craig Mattick:
You mentioned Robin. Who were some of the other mentors that were out there that once you got into coaching that maybe you had some extra questions for them or watched them a lot more closely? Who were some of those other coaches?
Katie Dailey:
Sure. Well, of course, I was pretty lucky because I had Coach Tibbetts at Jefferson and Coach Lavin at USD. Coach Lavin was always a great one to bounce things off of. And Barb Felderman was a huge mentor, just in how successful she was at South Dakota Tech, out at Rapid City.
Craig Mattick:
How would you describe the way your teams played? We will talk about the University of Sioux Falls. It probably wasn't much different than high school, but what was the way your teams played?
Katie Dailey:
I would definitely say up-tempo. We like to push the ball. We like to get it going up and down the court. If you can do that, get some turnovers from the other team, then I think that's going to produce more points for you, and I think that's kind of the game I implemented at USF.
Craig Mattick:
Your best years at the University of Sioux Falls, the early 2000s. You had some great players, including a handful of former Sioux Falls Roosevelt girls players who had come off of winning multiple state titles. You had Courtney Farrell and Krista Orsak, and then he also added Lindsey Schneiderman, Steph and Jill Austin, just to name a few. USF was in the Great Plains Athletic Conference in the NAIA, I think a very tough basketball conference. But what were those years like in the early 2000s with that group that we just kind of talked about and watched how they got better being at USF?
Katie Dailey:
Right, and I think that says a lot to the young ladies. Once again, I mentioned were they good in the classroom and how did they act off the court? I couldn't have asked for any better athletes to represent USF when I was there.
Craig Mattick:
Well, and a handful of them went on to coach themselves. What was that like, knowing that Courtney and Lindsey, they went off, I think Lindsey did volleyball, but Courtney still involved with assisting with the basketball?
Katie Dailey:
She's coaching her daughter right now.
Craig Mattick:
Oh, that's not making you feel different at all, is it, Katie?
Katie Dailey:
No. It didn't matter what they ended up doing. They were all very great young ladies, and that represents their parents, not only off the court but on the court, of their work ethic. So hats off to them as well.
Craig Mattick:
Well, they all were get-up-and-go players, similar to the way you played.
Katie Dailey:
It was, yeah. And truthfully, when I got to USF, they had brought in some great players when I got there and that helped. Anytime you're winning, that helps bring players in. And so, my first year there, our record wasn't quite as good, but I think that the more that they understood the system I wanted to put in, I think the better that they got. So they did a great job for us.
Craig Mattick:
The 2002-2003 season, you took the University of Sioux Falls to a place they had never been before, which was the final four of the NAIA National Playoffs. That year was a tremendous year for you. When did you know during that season that you thought that maybe we can make the playoffs and maybe make a little bit of a run?
Katie Dailey:
You mentioned earlier the GPAC, Great Plains Athletic Conference, was one of the top in the nation, and I feel like it probably still is. So I think we ended up beating some of the ranked teams, and we started moving up in the rankings, which was a confident builder for the girls. For us to be in the Final Four with three other GPAC teams said a lot for that conference that year.
Craig Mattick:
You may have had one of the best comebacks of the season in the opening round for that tournament. In fact, you were lucky to survive that first game in the tournament. You're down 24 points to Southern Oregon. What did you say at halftime? What was going on?
Katie Dailey:
Well, I don't know what we said, but I should have known that every year because, or every game, because it definitely turned around. I know one of my assistant coaches, Steph Kelly, said, "This is not over until it's over," at halftime. And the girls listened and they came out, and I know a lot of fans left. They were surprised the next day when they read in the paper that we had won. But yeah, it was definitely a memorable game. Still is today.
Craig Mattick:
And then the next game, you beat Cedarville by 23. Quarterfinal round, you beat Holy Family by 14. You guys were really on a roll, and you're in the Final Four. What was the mood of the team? What were you thinking at that time that here you are in the Final Four of the NAIA?
Katie Dailey:
Right. I think after that first game and coming back in, when I think they felt like they were unstoppable, and they just played their hearts out. It was one of the funnest weekends I've had, and I've been to a lot of basketball games and coached a lot of games.
Craig Mattick:
Well, the Cinderella season came to an end, the loss to conference foe, Dakota Wesleyan. You're right because it was Dakota Wesleyan, and you and Hastings, and I forget, it was Northwestern, maybe, the other one.
Katie Dailey:
Northwestern.
Craig Mattick:
Yeah, those were the Final Four, and you got to look back even today at that season thinking what a tremendous year those young ladies had.
Katie Dailey:
It was, and they deserved it. They worked hard. And like I said, they're just outstanding young ladies. I love to see them to this day when they come into the store and see me.
Craig Mattick:
Well, after the 2007-08 season, you resign as coach at USF. You decided to leave basketball. Katie, I certainly thought you would coach again, but instead you kind of went into the business sector. Basketball was a huge part of your life for more than three decades. Was it time for something else for you?
Katie Dailey:
It was. I think the stress level was high. Anytime you win and then you're not winning, what are you going to do to get back on top? You travel a lot as a college coach because you're out recruiting, you're watching games. I think a little bit different now, but back then you didn't have the internet where you could watch the games. And so it was time. I couldn't have been happier with my basketball career, starting with fifth grade intramurals, all the way to my last college coaching career, but happy where I'm at now and enjoying watching games, from USD to high school games around here.
Craig Mattick:
What keeps you busy today? What do you do?
Katie Dailey:
I work at the Sioux Falls Scheels store. I'm an assistant manager here. I have a little bit different team now. So now I have about 90 cashiers that I supervise and keep myself busy there.
Craig Mattick:
You were inducted into the South Dakota Basketball High School Hall of Fame in 2015. What did that mean to you?
Katie Dailey:
It's a humbling experience, especially when you come from a high school team that had so many great players on it. I wouldn't have had the success that I had without them. So it really should be a Jefferson High School Girls Basketball Award over a Katie Dailey Award.
Craig Mattick:
And Katie, what will always make you smile when you think back about being a Jefferson Hawkette, a USD Coyote, or the coach at the University of Sioux Falls?
Katie Dailey:
I would say probably just number one, the coaches and all the players that I got to experience all the fun with. A lot of memories.
Craig Mattick:
In Play with Craig Mattick has made possible by Horton in Britton, where Smiling at work happens all the time. Apply now at hortonww.com. If you like what you're hearing, please give us a five-star review wherever you get your podcast. It helps us gain new listeners. This has been In Play with me, Craig Mattick. This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
