Women’s basketball still one of the best
By Davie Wong, Sports Editor
Many may or may not remember last year’s Royals women’s basketball team that went toe to toe with nearly everyone they faced. Lead by one Courtney Gerwing, the team performed admirably in the regular season. Similarly, this year’s squad, now led by Steve Beauchamp, has done incredibly well in regular season play. They sit second in the PACWEST with a record of 7–3. As the team gears up for the last half of their season, I sat down to talk about the first half with their head coach.
Davie Wong (DW): How do you feel the team has performed so far this season?
Steve Beauchamp (SB): “Generally, I’m pretty pleased with how we’ve performed. Especially after the first third of the season, being in second place, losing a hard fought game to the Capilano Blues. But at the same time, that’s the competitiveness of the league. We had a tough match against Quest, a close game with Langara, and another really good game with VIU. The league is really competitive. So when you look at it that way, to be 5–1 after the first third, you have to be pretty happy.”
DW: Did you expect the level of performance that the team has shown?
SB: “I guess you have expectations, in terms of what you have. We have a really good nucleus of players that set high expectations, work really hard, and have a good work ethic. Certainly, if you look around, you have a lot of good parts, so you thought you had to be pretty good, but you never really know until you get out on the court against other teams. Being new to the league in that respect, not knowing what the other teams were going to be like, I think it was a good surprise to be 5–1.”
DW: At the beginning of the season, was top of the table anywhere you thought the team would be?
SB: “I thought we’d be in the mix for sure. The perennial favourite, VIU, is always going to be there. We had great battles with Capilano last year and knew that they pretty much had their old team back with a few additions. You kind of had them as the ones you expect to be fighting against. And the unknowns were Quest, Langara, and Camosun, and now seeing those guys, they all have talented teams as well.”
DW: How has the confidence of the team affected their level of play?
SB: “I think the team definitely likes to be front runners. I think that’s just human nature. You like to be winning and stuff like that. We’ve done a good job when we’re ahead, but if you look back at Capilano, we were ahead and it was back and forth, but for the most part we were ahead most of the time. But this team, their confidence isn’t very fragile. When we lose a game or two, I think their confidence is such that they know they’re in the mix. It’s not like they stepped out onto the court and were totally embarrassed by the other team. But it’s like any other sport. Sometimes it’s a bounce here or there, or it’s a call that makes the difference in the game, and you try to make sure they understand that, and I think that we have enough experience that they’re confident enough about that, too.”
DW: Has the experience of the team helped with bouncing back from losses?
SB: “I certainly think that some of that experience and veteran leadership has been important. You see that in different people, too. It’s not necessarily your fifth-year players all the time. Sometimes it’s a fourth-year, or a third-year. So I think they build off each other. Maybe one time, someone isn’t doing so well, someone else can rise to the top.”
DW: Has anyone surprised you the most this season?
SB: “I’ve been pleased with the contributions that we’re getting from everybody. If we think back to the beginning of the season, we talked a lot about scoring by committee. Sure, Rachel has been kind of that leader in the sense that she’s leading with 15 points a game, but then you’ve got three or four other girls that are in that 8–10 range. It’s different people at different times. They can take advantage of either a hot hand or take advantage of what the defence is giving us. It’s trying to utilize the strengths of different people. People knowing their roles, and where they could make a difference, I think is really important.”
DW: Has there been a single most impactful player?
SB: “We’re the type of team where we need everybody going. It’s one of those where it could be somebody different each time.”
DW: Where do you see the season going from here?
SB: “We can’t look past anybody. I think we have to approach each game as it is. I would say that we don’t necessarily have the fire power that someone like Capilano where they have so many weapons. Our game really starts at the defensive end, and that’s where we have to continue to focus, and then make adjustments to fit what teams are trying to take away from us.”
DW: As the team closes in on locking in a playoff position, will there be more diversity of players on the court?
SB: “I think we’ve done a fairly decent job of getting players out there and going fairly deep into our bench, and that would be the expectation going forward for sure. Getting people out there and having them play as hard as they can, and if you’re playing as hard as you can, you’re probably only going to be able to go three or four minutes, then you’re probably going to need a break, and then somebody else is going to be able to get in there. The key thing is, it’s a slow march to playoffs. You’ve got great coaches in this league. Everybody is making adjustments. Everybody is making changes to what they’re doing and putting in new things, and I think one of the keys for our team and for players in terms of playing is that they have to stay up-to-date with the things that we are trying to do. So we put in new things, people have to be on top of that. That would be the only thing that would hold people back from being on the court.”
DW: What have your losses taught your team?
SB: “As a coach, you never like to lose, and as a team, you never like to lose. But when you do lose, you learn more from that than perhaps the win. The loss to Capilano was bittersweet. It was one that we were quite frustrated about. You look at it and go, ‘How did we not come out on top?’ I think that in itself makes them want it more. They realize that that’s how close you are. It then becomes, challenge each other in practice, challenge each other to get better. So I think that’s helped us in that respect. That loss to VIU showed us that you really have to take care of that basketball. You have to value each possession.”
DW: Is there a team that you don’t want to face come playoffs?
SB: “Our focus right now is on finishing as high in the standings as possible. Obviously, first and second is preferred because you get that first round bye for the extra day off. Playing three games in a row would be a physical grind. But if that does happen, we just have to adjust to it.”