Simmons Lady Falcons

Coach Earl Ruffin (left) will lead the Simmons College Lady Falcons in pursuit of another national title in Minneapolis this weekend.

 Rick Bozich

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The story begins with the Simmons College women's basketball team making a final charge this weekend for their second consecutive Division II National Christian College Athletic Association national championship.

Three more wins, and space will need to be cleared in their trophy case. Not bad for a program that didn't bounce its first basketball until four seasons ago.

But that's not really The Story about this story. It does not tell you how this story is different from the other basketball stories, college, high school or elementary school stories that the Louisville community will obsess over for the next month.

You want The Simmons Story?

Start with this: The Lady Falcons (13-8) will open play in Minneapolis at 2:45 p.m. Thursday. They'll need a victory over Great Lakes Christian College. And then another Friday and another Saturday to repeat.

The team and staff gathered in the gymnasium at St. Stephen Baptist Church at 4 a.m. Tuesday for their 710-mile, 13-hour (with stops) bus trip to the Twin Cities. The only airport they'll see will be through the bus window as they drive past the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as they finish their trip into the city.

They will travel with a roster four or five players short of a load, just eight contributing players, several committed to playing all 40 minutes.

That explains why coach Earl Ruffin changed his practice routine several weeks ago. After directing his players through a stretching routine, Ruffin asked the eight healthy women to start and end practice by running a timed mile on the indoor track that winds above the gymnasiums at St. Stephen.

Simmons College

The Simmons Lady Falcons began their journey for a second straight National Christian College Athletic Association national title with a 13-hour bus ride to Minneapolis that began at 4 a.m. Tuesday.

"We're going to be the best conditioned team there," Ruffin said. "We're going to press and be aggressive. We want to wear teams down and play our best basketball at the end of the game."

What happened to the Lady Falcons roster?

One player was sidelined by a season-ending shoulder surgery. There was an academic casualty. And there were players who simply could not keep doing it all.

At Simmons, the historically black college founded in 1879 in downtown Louisville, doing it all does not mean shoot, dribble, pass, rebound and defend. At Simmons, it means practice, play, attend class and work a 40-hour job to handle financial obligations.

"You have to be flexible," Ruffin said. "You have to have great kids willing to buy into the system and make sacrifices, because most of my players have a lot of responsibilities.

"We work hard and we try to defeat the odds because we're coming from a small HBCU. Everywhere we go, we have adversity around us.

"So I try to keep them tuned in to the system we want to run and the things we're trying to do. That just brings us together. We have a very close team."

Consider Morgan DeFoor, a wisp of a guard as well the team's leading scorer. If DeFoor has not practiced at least 500 three-point shots in a day, it's been a strange day. She leads the Lady Falcons with a 23-point scoring average and a high game of 39 points on the day she made 12 shots from distance.

DeFoor never stops moving — on the court or off the court. She does not have time for idle time. In addition to basketball, she's taking a full academic load in childhood development and working at least 40 hours a week at her mother's day care facility so she can pay to attend Simmons.

And that day care facility is in Frankfort, which translates into a 45-minute, one-way commute any time DeFoor travels to Simmons.

Teammates say DeFoor is a locker room favorite because of her energy. They embrace her for the diversity she brings as the squad's only white player. They lovingly call DeFoor "Red Mamba" because of her flowing red hair and hunger to perform at winning time like Kobe Bryant, her favorite player.

"That's my twin," said Simmons guard Asia Cochran. "You would think she's Black. It's just a skin tone. We love her."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," DeFoor said. "I love this team."

DeFoor's story reflects that love. After a stellar high school career that saw her school more than 2,500 points and make than 300 three-point shots at Scott County High in Georgetown, Kentucky, DeFoor signed a scholarship with Morehead State.

Barely 5 feet, 5 inches tall, DeFoor played in 13 games with a high-scoring game of just five points during the 2020-21 season at Morehead.

DeFoor said during that season she lost her father as well as her love for the game. She did not play anywhere for the next 18 months.

"I fell out of love with the game," DeFoor said. "It just wasn't there for me."

Then, that love returned. When it did, she connected with Ruffin, who encouraged her to look at Simmons.

Sold. After one visit. DeFoor brought her three-point shot, her boundless work ethic and persistence to compete.

She also found a friend, Cochran, her backcourt mate. Like every Simmons player, Cochran has traveled a basketball odyssey, one that is similar but also wildly different from DeFoor's.

"Asia is my point guard," DeFoor said.

"Morgan DeFoor is my shooter," Cochran said.

Cochran is 26. She played high school basketball in Detroit. She began her college career at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. She redshirted for a season and then planned to transfer to Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.

But the coach at Shawnee recommended her to Ruffin. She visited Simmons late in 2023, practiced with the team — and never left. Sold.

"I loved the energy here," Cochran said.

Cochran had a job at White Castle. But the hours stopped fitting with her practice schedule. She switched to a full-time position cleaning businesses and schools to pay her tuition and living expenses as she pursues a degree in a business administration.

"I want to be an accountant," she said. "Or I want to work in finance. I want to make some money."

Those are the stories you'll find on Ruffin's team. Young women who make it work by juggling a full-time job, basketball practice and attending class. There are no corners to cut.

For the second straight year, they've made it work all the way to Minneapolis with a chance at back-to-back national titles.

"The joy we get from basketball is from making new connections and getting to know people you would have never met if you didn't play basketball," Cochran said.

"It's like family here, with the community and fans and the players," DeFoor said. "It's definitely a fun place to be and a fun place to play. I love it here."

The plan is to win three games and then joyfully climb back on the bus for the 13-hour return trip Sunday. They hope a crowd will await them.

"Hopefully, we're going to come home and have another celebration and a big parade," Ruffin said.

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