“That’s cool,” says Philly Lammers on a Friday in the middle of the July as she reflects on four collegiate seasons that included a sweep of GPAC regular season and tournament titles each year. “That is something I’m very proud of.” It wasn’t all that long ago that the ultra-talented and versatile post player Lammers led Concordia University, Nebraska Women’s Basketball to its most successful four-year run in history. From the 2016-17 through 2019-20 seasons, the Bulldogs lost a grand total of 10 games and went 63-1 at home.
In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday. In other ways, it feels like those glorious days are well behind her in the rearview mirror. In the time since her basketball career ended abruptly thanks to COVID-19, Lammers has relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, has completed an accelerated nursing program and has begun her career as a registered nurse.
In October, she’ll officially take her place in the Concordia Athletics Hall of Fame. Says Lammers, “In a lot of ways it doesn’t feel like it was a long time ago and in a lot of ways it does. I’ve moved across the country and done quite a few things. You don’t get to talk to your coaches and teammates nearly as much. The distance between everybody makes it feel like it’s been a longer time. I was very happy when I got the letter (informing her of her hall of fame induction). It’s definitely an honor and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Lammers didn’t have to wait long for a call to the ‘Hall.’ Five years after her graduation, the four-time NAIA All-American has garnered well-earned recognition. It was always going to be just a matter of time for the program’s first and only 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound performer. From the moment Lammers walked through the door, she turned heads and had her teammates respectfully poking fun at her defined biceps. The Millard West High School product dominated in the post and was an absolute terror in the full-court press thanks to her length and superior athleticism.
Lammers found herself right in the middle of two of the most unforgettable days in program history – March, 12, 2019, when the Bulldogs captured their first national championship and March 12, 2020, when COVID-19 robbed Lammers and her teammates a chance at repeating as national champs. That monumental 2018-19 season, Lammers emerged as GPAC Player of the Year and as a First Team All-American. So focused on the task at hand during one stay at the national tournament, she exclaimed to her teammates who were attempting to break that focus, “I have a game tomorrow!” They never let her forget that moment. She’s the stuff of legend.
Said Head Coach Drew Olson leading up to senior day of the 2019-20 season, “Philly is an amazing person. She is one of the hardest workers we have had. This work ethic allowed her to become an elite player. Her competitive drive is all the time – basketball, academics and fun games. She is super smart, inquisitive, analytical, caring and tough. She will be considered one of the greatest of all time.”
Lammers was one of nine seniors that was celebrated on senior day of February 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 lockdown measures were about to hit. That class included varsity players in Grace Barry (2019 national tournament MVP), Colby Duvel, Mackenzie Helman, Taryn Schuette and Riley Sibbel. Collectively, they helped raise the big red NAIA banner in March of 2019, along with All-Americans such as Taylor Cockerill and Quinn Wragge. Lammers posted a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds) in the 67-59 national title game victory over Southeastern University.
“I just smile,” says Lammers in recalling the celebration, confetti and all. “It was so much fun. It was a perfect ending to that season. That season wasn’t perfect – we still lost games – but being able to finally finish our season on that high note was really rewarding. I still have the ring. To look at it is nice. Being able to celebrate that with some of my best friends and have all that hard work leading up to that pay off was incredible.”
A year later, Lammers and Barry had the Bulldogs ranked as the No. 1 team in NAIA Division II and ready to defend their title. The Lincoln East High School grad Barry posted a high-traction tweet shortly after the cancellation of the national tournament in an attempt to come to grips with the circumstances. At their hotel in South Sioux City, Nebraska, the day before a scheduled second round game with Kansas Wesleyan University, a devastated group of Bulldogs learned that their season was over.
“It was definitely a really hard blow,” Lammers said. “Everybody was torn up about it and I remember seeing other teams there as well that were equally as heartbroken. It wasn’t just our dreams that got crushed. Every team that was at the national tournament was no longer able to put their best on the court and see where they landed. For us, not being able to try to win a national title again was obviously devastating. I don’t know how long it took to recover from that. It’s just a question that’s never going to be answered. Even though we might have lost – and that would have been devastating – at least we would have had an ending. Now the question is just floating out there forever.”
The news ended the college career of Lammers, who had tallied 2,033 points and 1,026 rebounds over her impeccable four-year run. The cancellation of the tournament also thwarted Lammers’ chances at breaking the program’s all-time scoring record, still held by former NAIA National Player of the Year Bailey Morris with 2,054 points. According to Lammers, she was unaware of just how close she was until finding out in the aftermath of the heartbreak felt on March 12.
But the records aren’t what Lammers thinks about these days amidst the hot and sultry Phoenix weather. She thinks about the holiday trips to places like Hawaii and Florida, the memorable battles with rival Dakota Wesleyan (three-straight GPAC tournament title game matchups!), the lessons taught by Olson and the close relationships formed with teammates and other Concordia students. Lammers still reminds herself of two specific themes that Olson brought up during preseason preparation and sometimes during a season: “success is a choice” and “leave things better than you found them.”
“I don’t know what I was really looking for in recruiting, to be honest,” Lammers said. “I think anyone who is leaving high school and going to college is in a more tumultuous time than what you realize. I still believe Concordia was the right fit for me not just because of how well basketball turned out. I think basketball turned out being so good for me because I was in the right spot and I was supported by the right people and had a strong team around me. As far as my experience at Concordia, that was unforgettable, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
That national championship ring that sits on a shelf is a reminder of more than just the winning for Lammers. The rest of us are still marveling at her career and the star power she brought to Concordia. How many post players do you know that rack up 357 steals? That in addition to the scoring and the rebounding, the winning and the intangibles put Lammers in the discussion as perhaps the greatest player in a storied program’s history.
There’s no question about Lammers’ legacy. She was the most prominent player during a stretch that saw the Bulldogs go a combined 137-10 with three trips to at least the national semifinals. Olson’s program stacked so many 30-win seasons that it would have been easy to take it for granted. Lammers realizes now just how special it was. So good was Concordia that in October of 2019, it nearly knocked off Creighton, a Big East team. Ultimately, the Bluejays prevailed in double overtime.
“I think you do (appreciate it more later) and then you see how hard it is for other teams to replicate,” Lammers said. “There was a post on Twitter (@cunewbb account) about different teams that had only 10 losses over a four-year period. We were like on par with UConn at the time. I never watched sports growing up, but seeing other teams try to replicate that level of success and how difficult it is helps you appreciate what we were able to do so much more.”
Added Lammers, “I’m thankful that we were so successful in basketball. That brings a lot of pride and joy and good memories, but I’m more thankful for the people I got to connect to and the experiences I had with basketball and on campus with my professors and other students at Concordia.”
A high achiever in all aspects of what it meant to be a Bulldog student-athlete, Lammers always put pressure on herself to play at a high level. Routinely she delivered.
When asked what advice she would give to college athletes today, Lammers offered, “I guess what would have helped me, if I would have taken advice when I was a freshman, is don’t take it too seriously. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Work hard, but at the end of the day, it’s life. There are going to be ups and downs. Don’t sweat the mistakes too much. Live in the moment. If you’re passionate about it, work hard and you’ll be okay.”