Spreading out minutes a benefit of being conference’s top team

By Sean Rooney on January 25, 2019.

srooney@medicinehatnews.com @MHNRooney

With a half-dozen games left in their regular season and their spot in the playoffs all but clinched, the Medicine Hat College women’s basketball team is in the rare position of being able to play it a bit safe down the stretch.

Sure, their goal remains to win every game, including Saturday’s home contest against Ambrose (6 p.m., Snake Pit), but the fifth-ranked team in the country intends to give more time to their bench in order to be healthy when the biggest weekend of the season arrives in March.

“That’s the plan, is to try to have pre-season minutes for everybody,” said head coach Clayton Nielsen. “If someone’s on fire they’ll play more but if not, we’ll keep playing everybody.”

At 13-2, the Rattlers could clinch a top-four spot this weekend, as fifth-place Briercrest (6-7) is at third-place St. Mary’s (9-5) for a pair of games.

Improving the level they’re at will still be a priority, but adding depth, while getting the most out of the starters when they’re on the floor, is the mantra.

“It gives the first-years to feel more games going in to when it counts, they’ll be more ready for it,” said Nielsen. “Depth and rest, everything. It helps us be a strong team. Everybody knows that hey, when their number is called they’ve got to play. That’s what we’ve talked about all season.”

Depth has been a key part of the gameplan anyhow. Kiana Mintz, a veteran of two other ACAC teams before coming home this season, would start on any other team in the conference having averaged double-digit scoring at her previous stops.

She’s still getting the points — at 12.3 she’s the 16th-leading scorer in the conference — but she’s doing it off the bench.

“I mean yes, obviously, everybody wants to start,” said Mintz, whose 20.7 minutes per game is 74th. “But you know what? Who cares if you’re winning.

“This is what the team needed for me to perform well and for us to perform well, so I was willing to sacrifice what I wanted.”

Last weekend against Red Deer none of the 11 uniformed players saw less than 10 minutes of floor time. Rookie Rhiannon Ware had the second-most in Friday’s 85-55 win, 24 minutes, largely because she found her range and wound up with 12 points.

“I’ve been getting more comfortable at the game speed, dealing with situations and stuff,” said Ware, who’s stopped thinking of herself as a rookie in terms of experience. “I think that’s a big turning point from my Grade 12 year to my rookie season in college, is I have to face the fact I can’t do everything. I’m starting to figure out new ways to finish, get by people and face the bigger girls who have been here in this league three or four years already.”

Nielsen hopes that added confidence pays off down the road, something he didn’t have the luxury of last season when the team had to fight and scratch to get to playoffs, then was missing guards Kendell Kuntz and Morgan Muir among others by the time they got to the ACAC final.

Kuntz and Muir, both back as the standout leaders this season, still get 20-plus minutes a night but opposing starters regularly see 30.

If the Rattlers are to get a repeat spot at nationals, that could be the difference between just being there and being in contention for a medal.

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