Boulanger steps up for Wesmen

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/02/2020 (2056 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Robyn Boulanger is no stranger to having her fair share of doubters on the hardwood.

This season was just another opportunity for the third-year University of Winnipeg Wesmen point guard to prove them wrong.

It appeared the Wesmen women’s basketball season was over after the opening weekend when star fifth-year forward Faith Hezekiah went down with a fractured knee.

Last year, Hezekiah averaged 23.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game and it looked like she was on her way to put up bigger numbers in 2020. After two Canada West conference games, Hezekiah averaged 28 points and was shooting better than 60 per cent from the field. But with Hezekiah, one of only two seniors on the roster, done for the year, head coach Tanya McKay needed someone to step up.

“I knew before Faith got hurt that this year was going to be big for me because I’ve been working so hard in the off-season,” said Boulanger, 20, who led the U of W Collegiate team to a AAA provincial championship in 2017. “That was my goal, to step up. But as soon as that happened to Faith, that was one leader down from our two leaders. I had a meeting with coach one time and she told me I had to fill a bigger role and I was perfectly fine with that, so that’s what I did.”

Boulanger didn’t get any starts in the 2018-19 season, but this year she has started 19 straight games for the Wesmen. The offence has gone through Boulanger as she leads the team with 3.5 assists per game and has the second-highest scoring average with 11.9 points. Most impressive of all is how the team has improved on last season’s 8-12 record as they finished the 2020 Canada West season at 12-8. The Wesmen will host their crosstown rival University of Manitoba Bisons (9-11) on Friday at 7 p.m. with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line.

Forward Lena Wenke, the only fifth-year player on the roster, said Boulanger is a major reason why the Wesmen were able to return to the playoffs despite missing their best player.

“She has been really, really important,” said Wenke

“What I noticed is she stepped up her mental game, meaning that during games, she just plays rather than getting down on herself. A lot of players tend to get down when they don’t score and you know you feel that pressure of having to step up. She basically learned how to do that and she’s been a huge part of the team. She’s taken on a leadership role being in her third year and I think that’s incredible.”

Standing at five-foot-six, you’d think Boulanger lacks the size to succeed on the court, but that isn’t the case. Her size and the fact she’s one of the few Indigenous basketball players at the U Sports level has motivated her to prove to others not only she belongs, but that she’s one of the best players in the province. She said growing up playing for Anishinabe Pride, a club team that was started by her parents, she experienced some racism. Boulanger has taken pride in proving to her critics that she can play, but more importantly, she hopes she can inspire other Indigenous athletes.

“I can see myself being a role model for Indigenous athletes and showing that it’s possible to pursue post-secondary and play U Sports and not be hindered by these stereotypes of Indigenous people. I really do feel proud that I am at this high level and that I’m playing so good at this high level so people can look up to me,” she said.

Boulanger isn’t the first athlete from her family to play college hoops. Her oldest sister Raven, 26, played for the Red River College Rebels and the middle child, Skylar, 25, had a five-year career with the Wesmen that wrapped up in 2018. Boulanger might’ve learned a thing or two from her older sisters, but unfortunately for her, she didn’t get their height.

“It’s kind of weird because Skylar (6-1) is a post. Raven is more of a shooting guard, or a (small forward) as she’s 5-9 and then there’s me, like a little point guard/shooting guard. So, I think we’d make a pretty good three-on-three team,” said Boulanger.

Hockey has traditionally been the family’s go-to sport, but Raven wanted to try something different and her sisters ended up following her lead.

“They called me the halftime show. I was at all of their games and I just always wanted to shoot around,” Boulanger said. “I think I fell in love with the sport definitely because of my sisters.”

Luckily for the Wesmen, Boulanger is no longer a halftime show — she’s a bona fide starting point guard.

 

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31