Playoffs Finally Here for VReds Womenâ??s Basketball Team
One year ago, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds were on the outside looking in. Talk about a dramatic change.
No longer are the VReds on the outside looking in when it comes to the Atlantic University Sport women’s basketball playoffs. They’re right in the middle of things. All of the blood, sweat and tears, all of the off-court training, mental preparation and road to playoff success comes together this weekend for UNB.
The VReds will be at Memorial University for the AUS playoffs with a shot at getting to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship slated for later this month in Windsor, Ont.
Quite a turnaround for the VReds, who actually earned a first round playoff bye and a position in the AUS semifinals, thanks to their second place regular season finish. What a difference a year makes.
“We have put ourselves in a position to compete for an AUS championship and that was the goal from almost the second last season ended,” said UNB head coach Jeff Speedy. “It’s what has driven us to become better. We needed to be better on the court, we needed to be more talented and we needed to work harder. And all of that has happened. We have witnessed so many good things this year, but we need to take it to another level with the playoffs.”
Ah, the playoffs. It’s not a best-of-three or a best-of-five series. The math is quite simple. Win and you play one more day. Win that other day and you’re off to the national championships.
“Everything simply becomes more magnified … there’s just not a lot of room for mistakes,” Speedy said. “In the course of a game, mistakes do happen. That’s the nature of sport. But those mistakes need to be limited. Everyone needs to contribute. It doesn’t matter if it’s your leaders or someone coming in for a short shift. There are a number of championships that have been decided because someone has stepped up. Perhaps it’s from an unexpected source. We need all hands on deck this weekend.”
You can be sure veteran fifth year starters Amanda Sharpe and Leah Corby have been visualizing this weekend from the time they laced up their sneakers for their first off-season workouts. Sharpe cannot wait until tip off of UNB’s first game.
“You try and put aside some of the emotions of being a fifth year player, but I’m also using those emotions in a good way,” Sharpe said. “I’ve always been a motivated person, but being in my fifth year has motivated me even more. I’ll continue to use everything in a positive way.”
The VReds can win this title. They’ve battled hard all season long to get in this position.
It’s not easy going to Newfoundland where adversity comes in all shapes and forms, namely from teams from Cape Breton University, St. Francis Xavier University and the host Memorial University Seahawks. St. Mary’s University and Acadia University also know it’s all about one game.
You don’t get a second chance.
“I know what our team is capable of and our team now understands what it is going to take to win this weekend,” Sharpe said. “The girls are filled with energy and excitement.”
It’s excitement that wasn’t there a year ago.
“This season has just flown by and so many people have asked me how our team went from not making the playoffs a year ago to finishing second this year,” Sharpe said. “I’ve never been on a team that was so together and all on the same page. We work so hard whether it’s as individuals, weights or practices. We put in so much time. We all want to win for our teammate next to us. That’s why we can be successful.”
Corby has been a whirlwind centerpiece for Speedy’s crew this year, putting together and outstanding season in her final year of eligibility. The veteran has been able to put the emotions aside, looking forward to the weekend and the intensity it brings.
“We definitely have the potential to win, but it comes down to whether or not we put it all out there on the floor,” Corby said. “If we play to our potential, we should be able to be successful. We have to leave everything we have out there on the floor.”
Although it is a bit of a small luxury to have a playoff bye for the quarterfinals, it can be difficult in the sense UNB’s opening game opponent is unknown and won’t be finalized until sometime Friday night.
“It’s a bit tough to prepare because we don’t who we’re going to play, but we need to be at our best in practice regardless so it will transfer into the weekend,” she said. “We’ve had a season of highs and lows in terms of winning and losing, but the entire year has prepared us for this one weekend. Hopefully we’ve learned from our experience and translate six months of practices and games into one weekend.”