Wesmen women have big shoes to fill

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This article was published 18/10/2023 (1074 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s one of the oldest storylines in sports. How do you replace a superstar?

Well, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball team is about to find out.

Head coach Alyssa Cox will be leaning on veteran guard Anna Kernaghan and a crew of youngsters to lead a reboot of her lineup after the graduation of three-time all-Canadian guard Kyanna Giles and fellow starters Robyn Boulanger, Julia Schatkowsky and Raizel Guinto.

The Wesmen women, 1-3 in the pre-season, are in Quebec City for a tournament this weekend. They will have a final pre-season tune-up Oct. 27 against the host Manitoba Bisons before travelling to UBC Okanagan for their Canada West regular season opener on Nov. 3.

Replacing four starters and their combined 60.1 points per game will be difficult. Expect scoring to come at a premium for the 2023-24 edition.

“I wouldn’t say I expect it to be rough,” said Cox prior to Wednesday’s practice at the Duckworth Centre. “I think we’ll make some learning mistakes early but the energy and the mindset of the group is really good. We’ve got a high level of compete and I think it’s the type of team that really won’t back down to anyone. So I think that’ll make us competitive.”

So far, it’s been two new faces — rookie forward Jennifer Kallon and post Carmen Hiebert, a transfer from Douglas College — who have been earning the most attention and the bulk of the playing time. Both have started each of the four pre-season games, joining returnees Kernaghan, Raia Guinto and Tamiya Ness.

The 5-10 Kallon, who hails from River East Collegiate, has been surprised with her prominent role so far.

“I have a hard time believing in myself,” said Kallon. “So if I make a mistake or something, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, why did I do that?’ Or if I see someone coming up (off the bench), it’s like, ‘Oh, they’re gonna sub me,’ kind of thing. So I do have a problem with having confidence in myself. But then I think to myself, ‘They’re not putting me on the court or saying I can start for no reason.’ They believe in me.”

Cox was impressed with Kallon’s willingness to put in extra work during the off-season.

“She’s somebody who can rebound well, defend well, takes care of the ball and play smart offensively, which means you’re a kind of low-risk, high-reward type of player,” said Cox. “And I think the offensive side of her game will only grow.”

Hiebert, meanwhile, played two years Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association but is unfazed by step up to the U Sports level.

“Going in I thought I’d have a pretty significant role because this team is so young,” said Hiebert, a 6-1 product of Lorette Collegiate. “And I feel like I have that experience.”

Cox appreciates Hiebert’s hard-nosed approach to the game.

“She just plays powerfully, she’s a very physical player in the inside and that’s something that we need,” said Cox. “We’ve got a lot more size this year than we did last and so it’s nice to be able to utilize that offensively. And she’s a veteran kid. She’s got a lot of playing experience.”

Kallon said she looks to third-year vet Priscilla Sanusi and Kernaghan, who averaged 12.7 points per game in conference play during her third year in 2022-23, for guidance when the need arises.

“She’s just had a great attitude through the whole experience and she already has the athleticism and the skill,” said Kernaghan of Kallon. “I’ve seen her working all summer on her shot and things like that, so I think when you have a work ethic like that you’re not really concerned about a player adapting to this level…

“I’ve had the chance to play with a lot of great role models and I think they kind of helped shaped me to who I am today. And now I get to kind of be that person for younger players, which I think is pretty cool.”

Only Sanusi and Kerhaghan remain from the former head coach Tanya McKay’s final season in charge of the program.

“The mindset with the group and how I coach them is slightly different as well,” said Cox. “You can assume less. You need to spend more time kind of breaking things down and understand that there’s gonna be a little bit more teaching.

“We went into it with the goal of playing our youth a lot so that they had a chance to experience the level. They have a chance to kind of find their footing and so that when we get to our regular season, they’re comfortable. They can start to really come into their own.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca