Women’s hoops for the win
Tim Lingley / The Brunswickan
UNB’s defense axe the axewomen’s offensive as they drive to the hoop.
January 25, 2012 6:00 AM ADT
The dividing of the AUS women’s basketball standings into haves and have-nots has not, or will not change any time soon.
While Acadia, Saint Mary’s, Memorial, and Cape Breton are playing for first-round byes in the playoffs, UNB, Dalhousie and UPEI are battling for a spot in the dance, with StFX already having a postseason berth, due to hosting the tournament.
This made the team’s game against the last-place Panthers all the more important.
Head coach Jeff Speedy, while happy that they the team did pick up an 82-67 win, he kept the victory against the worst team in the league in perspective.
“When you’re 3-7, winning a game to go 4-7, any win is a nice win,” Speedy said.
“It’s a four-pointer, it’s on the road, but we’re just trying to get better and hopefully getting better will produce a win or two.”
As usual for the Reds, Claire Colborne led the team in scoring with 22 points at an improved 53 per cent clip from the field. Rookie Colleen Daly came off the bench firing and nailing all five shots, including three from three-land, for 13 points. The Panthers had four players in double-digits in the loss.
Not only did the team pick up the win, they held UPEI below 70 points for only the fourth time in 11 league games this year.
The defence, which was once described as terrible by Speedy himself, has made for now a minor improvement.
When asked how his team has improved from the start of the year to now, Speedy paused and thought long about the answer, which might be an answer in and of itself.
“I think they’re playing more together and at times I think they’re more committed to doing things we’re asking them to do to have a chance to be successful,” Speedy said.
“I think there’s still a long way to go and doing a better job of doing some of those things some of the time is better than hardly at all which is where we were before Christmas. So definitely better, but I’m not patting ourselves on the back yet.”
The Reds travel to Sydney next week to play Cape Breton. At the start of the season, Speedy said if the whole team was healthy he expected them not to lose a game.
But the injury bug hit the Capers hard with starters Victoria Thistle and Jahlica Kirnon being sidelined for most of the first half and are tied for third with 20 points from a 7-5 record.
Whatever Speedy and the team learned about its split against CBU in November is essentially irrelevant now.
“They’re a much different team at home than on the road,” Speedy said, “and they’re a much different team than the one we played here in November just because now they’re healthier.”
“I expect a very different team than the team we played in November. I expect to see the team that we prepared for in November because we didn’t know that they were hurt.”
Tipoff from the Sullivan Field House is Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. and the next day at 1 p.m.
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