It’s always nice to find the silver lining in any situation, but it seems the Capilano University women’s basketball team has had just about enough of taking solace in second place.
For the past two seasons the Blues have made the PacWest championship final, but each year their golden quests have fallen just short, ending in silver-coated heartbreak. This year many of those same players are back, and according to head coach Ramin Sadaghiani, they’re having a hard time concealing their championship final frustrations.
“They’re all back with a bit of a chip on their shoulders, something to prove with our two silver medals the last two years,” Sadaghiani said. “I’ve seen some of them already step up and play with a purpose. You can tell that they’re anxious to get the regular season going and they’re excited about the year.”
An old adage in the coaching ranks is that you just want to make it to the championship game and then anything can happen. The Blues have nailed that part the last two years, putting themselves in a position to claim the title. So what can they do differently this time around?
“Win, that’s what we want to do differently,” Sadaghiani said with a laugh. “We have a bunch of competitors on the team, so I’m sure that they know what some of our goals are this year. It’s never easy to win a championship, we know that, but I know they’re coming in with a little bit of extra motivation this year heading into the season.”
On paper the Blues certainly have the talent to get back into the final and take another shot at a title. There are seven players on the roster with three or more years of collegiate experience, and on opening day Sadaghiani expects he’ll send out a starting lineup consisting entirely of third, fourth and fifth year players.
Leading the way will be a potent inside-outside duo in point guard Ashley De La Cruz Yip and forward Carmelle M’Bikata, both fifth-year players. M’Bikata is coming off a season in which she led the league in scoring and was sixth in rebounding, earning the PacWest Player of the Year award as well as CCAA All-Canadian status.
“Carmelle is always that consistent force on our team,” said Sadaghiani. “She’s always calm and collected. I think she’s going to be one of the top players in the league again and look to leads us on the floor. She does so much for us scoring and rebounding. She’s an athletic player inside, which teams have a hard time matching up with.”
De La Cruz Yip is coming off a season in which she was second in the country in assists and was named a PacWest second-team all-star.
“She’s had a very strong preseason, really playing like a fifth-year veteran. I’m excited to see her take charge of the team as a point guard,” said Sadaghiani.
Fourth-year guard Sherrie Errico, a Windsor Secondary grad, should be another go-to player for the Blues, returning to the team after being named a PacWest second-team all-star last season. The long-range gunner is coming off a year in which she knocked down 58 three-pointers, third most in the country.
“She’s ready to go and excited,” said Sadaghiani. “Obviously a scoring threat on any night.”
The starting lineup will likely include two more sharp-shooting wings in Reiko Ohama, another returning starter, and Emma Cunningham, who played three seasons at Camosun College before transferring to Capilano for this season.
“I think we’ll be an exciting team to watch,” said Sadaghinai. “We’re pretty athletic. You’ll see us go up and down the floor. I think the thing that makes us hard to guard is we have multiple weapons on the court. We have a lot of people who can shoot the three. Obviously when Carmelle is inside, I think we have a pretty balanced attack inside out.”
The team is still figuring out its roles, said Sadaghiani, but there are new players in the mix who should push the veterans.
Rookies MacKenzie Smith, a six-foot-three forward from Burnaby, and Simrat Dosanjh, an explosive guard from Surrey, were two of the team’s prized recruits, along with Danya Lincoln, a second-year forward who played a year of CIS ball at Thompson Rivers University.
“They’re all capable of stepping in and giving us some good minutes,” said Sadaghiani. “I don’t think we have one player that’s going to drop 30 points a game for us, it’s going to be kind of scoring by committee and take the best shot that is available to us each possession.”
Even with all that firepower, however, Sadaghiani said his team will be in for a long, tough year battling against several strong teams in the conference. The Blues can’t go into the season regretting missed opportunities from the past, or looking ahead to championship finals of the future.
“I just think we need to focus on this year and doing everything we can to prepare ourselves for the playoffs,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to be in the final – the first step is to get there, which is not easy in our league. I think you just take it one game at a time and treat it like a new season. It’s a new roster. Just because we were in the final last year, doesn’t mean we’re going to be in it this year. Just because we came in second doesn’t mean we’re going to finish second this year.”
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The Blues will begin their season with a pair of homes games next weekend. On Friday, Nov. 10 they’ll host Quest University with the women tipping off at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m. On Saturday Langara College will come to Capilano, with the women starting at 5 p.m. followed by the men at 7.
