Femme finale

It’s that time of year again: Memorial’s varsity athletics are slowly winding down, and the teams are all looking to leave a lasting impression in the 2009-10 season. The women’s basketball team has had success in recent years, and this year was no different.

The Sea-Hawks were eyeing another division title and a berth in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Championships as they competed in Sydney, Nova Scotia for the 2010 Subway Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Championships on the weekend of February 26-28.

As second overall seed in their division, the women earned a second round bye, excusing them from the quarterfinal round. The team was fairly certain that they would take the court against St. Mary’s University in the second round of the championships, and in doing so, they were also certain of which player on the opposition’s team would have to be carefully watched.

That player was Justine Colley, AUS Rookie and First Team All-Star from East Preston. Unfortunately for MUN’s ballers, it was Colley who led her team to a victory over the Sea-Hawks with a score of 77-56.

The second quarter proved to cause some problems for the Lady Hawks. After trailing by two points after 10 minutes, they only managed to put up six points by halftime. The third quarter brought another offensive gain by the Huskies, courtesy of Justine Colley, ending with a career high 38 points in 35 minutes of court time. The Sea-Hawks were led by Vicki Thistle with 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Grace Fishbein with 10 points and five rebounds.

When it comes to the overall season his team played, Coach Doug Partridge is clearly disappointed.

“I felt like we got a lot of things done in the regular season,” said Partridge. “We got better at some things that surround how we conduct ourselves, how we do our business, how we carry ourselves…obviously the playoffs were a major disappointment, but there was no shame in finishing second overall.”

Partridge highlighted his team’s ability to dominate UNB at home, winning the pre-season tournament at Waterloo and finishing second in the conference while earning a bye as some of the most positive accomplishments. On the other hand, being blown out by StFX and Cape Breton University, as well as the unfortunate first round playoff loss are definitely low points.

Oft-heard names like Vicki Thistle, with her “competitiveness and scoring” and Grace Fishbein, with “a breakout season,” earned praise from their coach for well-played seasons. Erin Mullaley, who played her final game as a guard after five seasons with the Sea-Hawks “had a good year,” according to Partridge, who highlights her “defensive intensity, leadership, and outside shooting” as her strong points.

Now that the season has ended, Partridge plans on stiffening up his off-season training.

“We will meet up to straighten some things out, then we will go over some things with individual players, figure out who is coming back and solidify our recruitment so we can concentrate on getting people fit and ready for next September,” Partridge said.

“We will see what we can come up with.”

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