The Memorial women's basketball team are travelling to Cape Breton this weekend to take on the 5-0 Capers in a 2-game series on Saturday and Sunday. The Sea-Hawks will look to bounce back from a tough 97-70 loss to the Acadia Axewomen on Sunday with some wins against the leagues last remaining undefeated team.
The Hawks fly into Cape Breton at 3-3 led by Sydney Stewart, Haille Nickerson and Sydney Ezekiel, who are averaging 19.5, 15.7 and 15.3 points per game respectively. The Capers come into the weekend at 5-0, with 5th year forward Hannah Brown leading the way. She is averaging an impressive double-double, with 28.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, through 5 games this season.
Head Coach Mark English says the team will have to play solid team defense against Cape Breton in order to get some wins, and that they will have to put an emphasis on being in the right spots every play and communicating on the defensive side of the ball.
When asked his thoughts on the first few games of the season and how the team can improve on their 3-3 start, English replied "We are continuing to grow as a team and becoming more aware of what needs to be done every game to win. We just need to be more consistent now in our execution."
The Hawks come into the game averaging 39.5 rebounds per game, compared to the Capers 35.4 rebounds. 5th year forward Brooklyn Wright says the team will have to play to their strength of defensive rebounding and pushing the basketball up the floor, which has been one of their biggest factors of success this season.
Regarding last weekend against Acadia, where the team went 1-1, Wright says the team needs to do a better job following up wins on Saturday, with strong performances on Sunday as well. "After wins we have to stay level and consistent, and be able to end the weekend strong."
Wright also agrees with English that consistency needs to be a focus for the team moving forward, saying that the team needs to remain tough for a full 40 minutes in order to have continued success.
The Capers are coming off two big wins against the UNB Varsity Reds last weekend. Hannah Brown, the league's leading scorer, will have to be a player that Memorial focuses on stopping defensively.
The Hawks will have to be careful and play good team defense, because Cape Breton is second in the league in assists, averaging 14 per game. They move the ball just as well as any other team, and if Memorial puts too much attention on Brown with double and triple teams, they have the ability to find someone else to score.
The Sea-Hawks play on Saturday at 6:30PM NST and on Sunday at 12:30PM NST in Cape Breton. You can watch the games live on AUStv.ca or keep up with the games on Twitter and the live scoring at www.goseahawks.ca.
By: Darnell Downs