By John DeCoste
Despite still having some “major weaknesses” in their game, the Acadia women’s basketball team has made “significant progress” in addressing those weaknesses so far this season, the head coach said.
The Axewomen won seven-of-eight pre-season games, and went into the Christmas break having won four-of-five regular season contests for an 11-2 record overall, good for a spot in the country’s top-10 for most of the first half.
“We had a very good pre-season, but we’ve had those before,” head coach Bev Greenlaw said recently. “We had one of the better regular season records in recent Acadia Axewomen history last year, but we were not satisfied with how things ended.”
The goal for this season is to reach, and have greater success in, the Atlantic conference playoffs.
“Ironically, perhaps the biggest key to how well our kids have been playing lately is how poorly we played in our opening game of the regular season,” Greenlaw said, referring to the 76-60 loss to Dalhousie.
That game, he suggested, “provided our players with a wakeup call and a very blunt reminder of the things we had been aware we had to work on, but had not fully accomplished in practice.”
Besides the opener, Greenlaw has been happy with the results so far, keeping in mind Acadia “has yet to face three of the most talented teams in the conference” in Cape Breton, Saint Mary’s and Memorial.
Greenlaw stressed the women’s conference “may prove to be the toughest and most competitive in his history. It can be agued this conference is emerging as the toughest in the country, from top to bottom.”
Nothing Greenlaw has seen so far has changed that view.
“All you can do is say ‘buckle up and enjoy the ride.’ AUS women’s basketball is going to be incredibly entertaining this season.” - Bev Greenlaw, Acadia women’s basketball head coach
“Really,” he said, “all you can do is say is ‘buckle up and enjoy the ride.’ AUS women’s basketball is going to be incredibly entertaining this season.”
Like any team, the Axewomen will benefit from the Christmas break, “as a time to rest and recuperate” where necessary, fulfill their academic obligations, “and rededicate themselves to a committed effort to improve in the specific areas we have identified as essentials.”
The team will get an early test at a tournament in Montreal just after Christmas, where they will meet Ottawa, Laurier and McMaster, before opening the second half Jan. 5 at home against Cape Breton.
Greenlaw and his staff “are extremely pleased with how our kids have responded as a team to the challenges we have faced so far this season.”
The final two games of the first half at UPEI were good examples of the type of season the Axewomen are having. The team “played with great energy and purpose, especially at the defensive end of the court.”
Stefanie Chapman and Jasmine Parent “have both transformed their game this season, making major alterations in the way they approach their role on the team,” the coach said. “Their improved play has been a key to our successful beginning.”
Abbey Duinker, who was “exceptional in the pre-season and played a major role in how well our team started,” continues to improve, he added.
New players such as Rita Sibo, Jackie Caravella, Melissa Gottschall and Carlie MacDonald have played well, though Greenlaw stressed, “we think they can play better, and we will continue to push them to do so.”
