NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
Medicine Hat Rattlers’ Paige Cooper drives to the basket for a layup during an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference women’s basketball game against the Lethbridge Kodiaks on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 at the Snake Pit.
What works better, a grind-it-out, post-heavy team or a run-and-gun side built on speed? And more importantly, who’s got what it takes to win an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference women’s basketball title?
Those questions will get answered this weekend at Medicine Hat College. Eight teams begin play today in the Snake Pit with an eye not just on the ACAC banner, but one of the two spots to nationals in British Columbia.
“Every game is tight, every game is tough,” said Rattlers coach Clayton Nielsen. “As you progress through the days, who’s making the least amount of mistakes and who’s playing the toughest D, I think those teams are going to win.”
There’s long been a conversation about differences between styles from the conference’s two divisions, but the consensus at the moment is pretty clear.
Lethbridge’s Kirsten Barwegen sums it up by noting the north – plus Olds – generally spends more time in the key.
“They’re big, they’ve got the big post game, they’re going to kill you in the nitty-gritty type of play,” said the third-year forward. “In the south and Augustana as well we’re a lot quicker, we want to push the pace.”
In many cases the style is determined by who’s on the floor. The host Rattlers, for example, lack a true natural scorer so their mantra is turning defence into offence. Their quarter-final (6 p.m.) opponent Keyano counters that with a physically imposing lineup.
“It changes every year,” said Keyano’s Kaleigh Sellers. “We all bring different aspects to the game, north and south, so it’s really interesting to see how it’ll play out against each other.”
At 20-4 the Huskies reached last year’s final on home court in Fort McMurray, only to be undone by Olds and Brittney Thibeaux, who on Wednesday earned her second straight league MVP award.
The 18-3 Broncos are defending national champions and the south’s top seed, meaning a rematch is technically possible. But try telling that to 16-5 St. Mary’s, which hasn’t lost since November, or 19-5 Lakeland, 9-1 in its last 10.
A quick look at the opening-day matchups reveals some intriguing storylines.
Lethbridge vs. Lakeland, 1 p.m.
Deanna Simpson of the Kodiaks and Chris King of the Rustlers were named coaches of the year for their respective divisions Wednesday, but nobody’s denying that Lethbridge has overcome more to be here this weekend.
Losing her top player at the semester break, Simpson’s ladies rallied with three wins in the final two weeks of the season – including one over Olds – to earn a playoff berth.
“It was a toss-up as to if we were going to come,” said Kirsten Barwegen, whose team wound up 12-9. “Why not us? We have nothing to lose and I think that’s a good thing.”
Lakeland was the north’s highest-scoring team with 70 points per game and also led the ACAC with a mere 56 per game against. With nine players averaging at least five points per game and seven of those returnees who won bronze at ACAC’s last year, they also boast the deepest roster this weekend.
“I think the expectations were higher for us, we know what we’re capable of,” said Jaden Cook. “Pressure’s good.”
Augustana vs. Olds, 3 p.m.
This will be Thibeaux’s third and final year in the conference, and she’s dominated from the outset.
Her 25 points per game were second in the ACAC, while she added 9.9 rebounds on average and was second in blocks (2.33).
The Chicago native would like nothing more than to go out on top and her Broncos have the tools to do it, including her sister Brandi.
“Of course everybody’s goal here is to win,” she said. “We have five returning players from last year’s team. I’ve been emotional all week just thinking about this is my last weekend here. I’m just trying to enjoy every moment.”
On the other end is Augustana’s Sheridan Popenia, whose name should be familiar to Hat fans. The fourth-year guard who spent three years as a Rattler admitted it was odd returning to the Gas City Wednesday, but will no doubt feel right at home.
“The whole week I was thinking about it,” said Popenia, whose 14-10 Vikings are a clear underdog. “It’s really exciting.
“All we can do is play our game, pay attention to the details.”
Medicine Hat vs. Keyano, 6 p.m.
Morgan Muir knows the end is near for her college career, but there’s really nothing to lose for her and the 11-10 host team given the task they face.
“It is bittersweet, I’m trying not to think about it too much because it makes me sad,” said the fifth-year guard from Australia, who was named a second-team all-star along with hometown forward Katelyn Rozdeba. “It’s been a huge part of my life. I’ve always enjoyed being the underdog too.
“We can totally do it.”
The Huskies are led by Moiyan Toure, who like Rozdeba averages a double-double (13.4 points, 13.6 rebounds per game) but also leads the conference in total steals.
Muir became a double-digit scorer this season more out of necessity, but her bread and butter remains on D, where she averages 3.8 steals per game, second only to Brandi Thibeaux’s 4.0.
Her, fourth-year Paige Cooper and third-year Rozdeba belie a young roster, however.
“We have a lot of stuff to work through, and work through quickly,” said Nielsen, who’s happy to report his roster is healthy. “It comes down to who plays the smartest, the longest.”
Fans will be on the Rattlers’ side, something the Huskies know all too well having had similar support – but in a much larger gym – last year.
“We know the atmosphere in the gym is going to be wild, especially the first game, so we’re trying to prepare ourselves,” said Kaleigh Sellers. “Hopefully this weekend we can pull it together and be prepared. We practised in a really small gym yesterday and had music going, so we tried.”
NAIT vs. St. Mary’s, 8 p.m.
With only eight players left on their roster, the biggest question for the St. Mary’s Lightning this weekend isn’t their skill or desire, but rather whether they have enough endurance.
Winners of 12 in a row, St. Mary’s is led by guard Emily Wagner (21.9 points per game) and the fact every one of the eight see plenty of court time.
“We don’t have subs, so we run all the time,” said guard Juhee Anderson. “We have to be conditioned to play a full 40 minutes.
“We feel we have a lot of talent and a lot of hard-working girls.”
The Ooks (15-9) counter with a balanced roster.
“We returned a lot of players, but we’re still a bit young,” said Carly McHarg, a forward who’s unfortunately dealing with a concussion and won’t be available this weekend. “We had a hard time earlier, we’re coming into playoffs hitting our stride.”
