In less than two weeks, the two will be leaving the area with college degrees, a whole slew of accolades from a historic season on the basketball court, lasting friendships, and new opportunities ahead as they take their hoops game and education to the next level.

This past season, Taylor and Cruse were among the players who helped set the bar extremely high for the North Country Community College women’s basketball team. Under the guidance of head coach Jerrad Dumont, the two graduating sophomores and the rest of their teammates piled on the accomplishments that culminated with a third-place finish in the NJCAA, Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.

Taylor, of Alexandria, Virginia, and Cruse, who grew up near Houston, Texas, had never been to the North Country before arriving as freshmen at NCCC. During their two years here, they set their sights on winning a basketball championship, graduating from NCCC and then moving on to a four-year school.

They accomplished the mission on all fronts. On the court, the Saints came through this year with their first women’s Region III basketball title during a season that saw the Saints post a 28-3 record, the best-ever in the history of program. Included in the run was a 22-game winning streak, which was another record set for the Saints women.

Women’s head basketball coach Jerrad Dumont displays his team’s third-place national trophy and the net his players cut down after winning their school’s first Region III title. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Academically, Taylor will graduate with a two-year degree in health sciences, and next fall, she’ll continue studying at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, Cruse will earn her NCCC degree in Business Enterpreneurship Management and will attend Nyack College. The soon-to-be Saints graduates will continue their college basketball careers at their new schools, which are both NCAA Division II institutions.

The Enterprise recently caught up with Taylor, Cruse and freshman Kayla Carder, to talk about their stay in Saranac Lake, the team’s championship season and the future. The interview was arranged by coach Dumont, who said it won’t be easy replacing two of the most remarkable student-athletes to ever play hoops at North Country.

“I don’t know if it’s possible to replace Ty and Jazz. To be honest with you, it’s not possible,” Dumont said. “The work ethic, the overall package that they bring. They’re good basketball players, they’re good people on campus, they do well in the classroom. They bring so many intangibles to the team. I hope to bring in a couple of kids who have some of those tangibles, and maybe I can bring in some more that have the other tangibles that they are missing.

“They meant everything to our program. It wouldn’t be where it is without them,” Dumont continued. “When they came in it was at a high level, but I think they brought us to the next elite level, where we’re a contender in Region III now. We’ve been close for the last five years, but they brought us to the point where we can say ‘We’re not leaving.’ I think what they did, it came from their work ethic. They taught the freshmen how to work.”

Cruse said that an unexpected early exit from the regional playoffs a year ago provided this year’s sophomores with the inspiration to get the job done.

“I think last year really helped us goal-wise, losing in the round that we did in,” Cruse said. “Our mindset became we’re going to make it there, we’re going to win it all. I don’t know if coach believed, but we really believed, and I think he understood once we started winning and having that streak that we got, and the momentum that we had, we honestly knew we could do it.”

“We made it. We actually did it,” Taylor added. “We put our minds to it and we did it.”

Obviously, Taylor and Cruse were just parts of the puzzle that fell into place for the Saints. Bringing in Carder, a dominating player down low, was a huge factor in the team’s success, and so was a deep lineup of well-rounded players.

“Besides getting my degree this year, winning the region, going to the national championships, is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life,” Cruse said. “I’m really proud of what we did as a team. It was something hard to do. I think that feeling will always be there. I know it will.”

“We made a lot of achievements, accomplishments as a team, as individuals,” Taylor said. “Our team, we’re a family, so it was just easy for us to just connect with each other. I think our communication was key to everything. It was a great season.”

In addition to finishing with a Region III crown and a final ranking of third in the country for NJCAA Division III women’s basketball, individual accolades also piled up for the Saints women this season. Taylor and Carder earned the highest individual honors as the first Saints to ever be named All-Americans. Taylor, a point guard, was named to the NJCAA Division III third team and Carder was an honorable mention choice.

Taylor and Carder were also first-team Region III selections, and Dumont was the region’s Coach of the Year. The honors didn’t stop there, as the Saints had four players honored by their Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference. Taylor and Carder were first-team members, Cruse was a second-team pick and sophomore Bailee Gauthier, who will also play basketball at a four-year college, was named to the MVCC’s third team.

When looking back at their last two years at NCCC, Taylor and Cruse both laughed, and maybe even a little painfully, about how cold it can be during a North Country winter. And they both recalled wondering how they ended up attending junior college in a small town tucked away from all of the things they were familiar with growing up. But after two years of their lives as Saints’ students, Cruse and Taylor are leaving Saranac Lake with no regrets.

“Coming from the city of Houston, there wasn’t a lot to do up here,” Cruse said. “It was a whole new ball game. I’ve been taught by my family that once you start something, you have to finish it, so regardless, even if I didn’t like here, I was going to stick it out, I was going to finish.

“I really did enjoy my experience here,” Cruse continued. “I feel like it helped me mature a lot; being so far away from my family, having good friends, ones that I can call my family as well, and having a great coach.”

“Coming up here not visiting the school first and just walking into a new environment, it was different but I adapted to it,” Taylor said. “It was a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it. With all I’ve been through the past two years, I wouldn’t have wanted to go to another school.”

Although Taylor and Cruse and five more graduating sophomores are moving on from this year’s record-setting championship season, North Country’s women’s hoops program should remain in good hands. Next fall, Dumont will return for his 12th season leading the team, Carder comes back as a sophomore and an All-American, more sophomores will be back as champions, and some solid recruits are expected to fill in the ranks.

Still, Carder said she’s really going to miss having Taylor and Cruse as teammates and friends who she spent her life with since last summer.

“I’ll miss their leadership, and the friendship that we’ve made over the year,” Carder said. “There’s been a lot of memories. We’ve been going at it since August. It’s been a long season with these two. It’s going to be a lot different not having them next year, and now being the one who has to keep everyone under wraps.”

“Girls like Ty, like Jazz, they make me look good,” Dumont added. “It was a fun run.”