Strong starts to strange season

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This article was published 07/01/2021 (1962 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been an unprecedented NCAA basketball season, but when Niyah Becker and the Utah Utes are playing a home game, the Winnipeg forward can count on her family always being in the stands.

It’s just that her parents, Dan and Paula, sister Tanah, and brother Kai, are a lot thinner and quieter than usual.

“Yeah, no fans are at our games. We actually have cutouts of people. We were each allowed to pick four people and send pictures of them in. So, I have cutouts of my family sitting in the stands,” said Becker, a 20-year-old junior who starred at Vincent Massey Collegiate before finishing her high school hoops career at Lincoln Prep in Hamilton, Ont.

It’s just one of the many things that have made this season unlike any other.

Becker and her teammates are tested for COVID-19 before every practice and game. While they’ve gotten used to having swabs shoved up their nose, it’s still a stressful experience. Nobody wants to be the player that contracts the virus and derails the season for the team.

“Yeah, there’s a ton of pressure. We try not to think about it because we don’t always want to be like ‘Oh who’s going to be the one to get COVID?’ But we’ve cut down on things we normally used to do… It’s not really worth it to do the things that we always want to do or the things we’ve done in the past if we could possibly bring COVID onto the team,” said Becker, who lives with her Canadian teammate, Andrea Torres, a guard from Quebec.

“It’s a sacrifice, but it’s not that big of a sacrifice because we’re still getting to play basketball.”

Becker’s squad did have one positive case early on, forcing everyone to go into isolation, but they haven’t had any games cancelled. In a normal year, teams usually kick off the season with games against non-conference opponents and usually a tournament as well.

But this year’s schedule, as expected, has been stripped down to the essentials. Utah only played one non-conference opponent, a 73-63 victory over Montana State on Dec. 11. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a program like Utah, which plays in the toughest conference in women’s basketball — the Pac-12 . The Pac-12 features three top 10 teams, including the top-ranked team in the U.S. in Stanford.

“We usually have close to 20 non-conference games and this year we had one or two. It was weird, as usually that’s our time to prepare, kind of get used to playing with each other and get the freshman used to playing Utah basketball,” said Becker, who played for Canada at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Over at Louisiana Tech, another Winnipegger and former Sisler High School star player, is experiencing much of the same thing. Senior guard Raizel Guinto and the Lady Techsters saw their conference, Conference USA, take a bit of a different approach as teams were split into two divisions to cut down on travel. LA Tech was able to schedule six non-conference games, but their conference meetings are all played on back-to-backs. With the likeliness of COVID cancelling a game or two, the conference standings will be based on winning percentage.

“It’s going to suck not getting to play every team (in the conference) because that’s what we’re used to,” said Guinto, 21, who was named the Conference USA Co-6th Player of the Year last season.

“But I think the doubleheaders are good. It’s a good test to see how well you can adjust from one night to the next, to fix your mistakes and to know what you need to do better… It’s going to be more mental than physical, for sure.”

If there’s one silver lining to everything, the NCAA decided winter sport student-athletes will receive an extra year of eligibility. All the changes and uncertainty haven’t slowed Becker and Guinto down, though, as they’re both putting up career numbers. Utah is off to a slow start at 3-5 but is coming off an impressive 84-63 victory over the Washington Huskies where Becker scored nine of her 12 points in the second half. Becker has started four games this season, a career high, and is averaging 7.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 18.4 minutes of playing time per game. Guinto and the Lady Techsters are 6-2, including 1-1 in conference action. Guinto has started every game, averaging 9.5 points while shooting .353 from the field and adding 2.6 assists per game.

The duo are thankful to be playing and are making the most of the opportunity, but it hasn’t been easy being away from family. Neither one of them made it home in 2020 as they elected to spend the off-season and holidays down south.

“They were supportive of whatever decision I made as they know it’s not just about me, I’m a part of a team,” said Guinto about her family.

“I made the decision to stay when we were in quarantine. Obviously that hurt them, that hurt me, but we talk a couple days a week… I could’ve gone home, like I turned down going home this Christmas, just to be safe and protect them and protect myself, too. But they’ve been supportive through all of this. It’s been tough, but I have people here that have taken me in as family.”

A lot can change, but the NCAA is planning on having its women’s national championship tournament, which typically features 64 teams, at a single site. It was announced earlier this week the men’s tournament will take place in Indiana. Nothing official has been announced for the women’s event, but the NCAA is in discussions with officials in San Antonio, Texas.

A Manitoban has never made it to the NCAA women’s tournament and Guinto and Becker would love to make history. But even though they’re occupied with their seasons, neither one of them have forgotten about their basketball community back home who are in lockdown and not allowed to play.

“I know it hurts them. I talk to people that play at the university level or just play recreational. They really miss it because they love the game. I’m playing for more than myself,” said Guinto.

“Just knowing if I have the opportunity to play, I will. I know people are cheering for me back home and I’m getting messages all the time about just how the season is and wishing me good luck and talking about how the gyms are closed there. Those are good reminders that I still have an opportunity to do something that I love.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31