Not Your Average Rivalry
November 11, 2015 | Women's Basketball
The head coaches meet for their postgame handshake as the home crowd rumbles in the background at Cabot Center. The dust finally settles from a hard-fought, 75-74 Northeastern win over Boston University in the 2014-15 season opener. As the coaches shake hands, they give a friendly smile, to a face they are all too familiar with, beginning the next chapter of an epic rivalry.
The 73rd contest between Northeastern University and Boston University was not only special because it featured the head coaching debuts of Kelly Cole and Katy Steding, but also because it renewed a fiery rivalry that has traveled all the way from Portland, Ore. to Boston, Mass.
"Having the opportunity to come to BU, and then hearing two or three days later that Kelly had accepted the job at Northeastern, I just thought 'oh my gosh to go 3,000 miles away with 20 years of separation or more', it was pretty amazing," Steding said. "We ended up coaching literally blocks from each other when we grew up miles from each other in Oregon."
The rivalry between Cole and Steding has been fueled three factors: proximity, longevity and success.
Cole and Steding kicked off the rivalry back in their freshmen year of high school in Portland. Cole was a standout athlete for Clackamas High and Steding for Lake Oswego High in Portland.
The rivalry intensified when Cole transferred to St. Mary's Academy, another bitter rival of Steding and the Lakers. The teams would meet in the state playoffs multiple times over the next two seasons in basketball and volleyball.
"They were the goliath-like powerhouse school and I was this kid from this small town public school, now at this private school. So there was definitely a very strong rivalry between us, and between the two schools," said Cole.
The competitive Cole and St. Mary's garnered the upper hand over Steding, winning four out of five matches, all coming in the postseason, including a couple of state titles in basketball and volleyball.
After they finished up their fantastic pre-collegiate careers, both players moved on to the next level; Cole to Northwestern and Steding to Stanford. The determined Steding would have her revenge in their lone meeting in college, posting a school-record 10 steals on her way to leading the Cardinal to a 94-82 win over Cole and the Wildcats.
"I remember thinking, 'Oh cool, I finally get to play against somebody that I played against in Oregon.' It was special to be able to compete against your former high school rival," said Steding.
Cole finished her career at Northwestern with a Big Ten championship, while Steding amassed a pair of Pac-10 titles and a national championship in 1990.
Post college, Cole decided to hang her sneakers up and pick up the clipboard instead. She returned to Oregon where she started her tenure in the coaching ranks at the high school level at Newberg High. She would spend the next 20 years building her coaching resume with stints at her alma mater Northwestern, Boston College, and Harvard.
Steding instead chose to pursue a career at the professional level. She played overseas in Japan and Spain along with stints in the ABL and WNBA. In 1996, Steding was selected for the women's national team that brought home the gold medal in the Atlanta Olympics. After her professional basketball career was over, Steding joined the coaching field where she spent time at Warner Pacific College (NAIA), Columbia, San Francisco, and California prior to BU.
With Cole and Steding taking different career paths, the rivalry between the two had cooled down. That is, until last season, when they faced off not as players but as head coaches for crosstown rivals. Cole earned yet another win on the hardwood, her first as a coach, against Steding.
"I think it's pretty amazing that life can lead you down this randomly long path and suddenly you're right here next to someone that you've know your whole life," said Steding.
This Friday will be the next installment in this amazing rivalry between Cole and Steding as Northeastern faces off against BU at Noon in Case Gymnasium. Both coaches are looking to build on last season's experience and hope for a good, competitive game.
"We had a good on-the-floor rivalry in volleyball and basketball," Cole said with a chuckle. "I won a couple state championships, she won a national championship and now, here we are, at it again."
