THERE'S a funny moment before each game for the University of British Columbia women's basketball team when the starting lineup is announced.
"Starting at guard, from North Vancouver. . . . At guard, from North Vancouver. . . . At forward, from North Vancouver. . . ."
Fans can be excused for thinking it's some sort of broken microphone or clerical error. But it is, in fact, no mistake. The announcements always put a smile on the face of Alexandra Vieweg, normally the third name on that list, who in her fifth year with the team has joined with fourthyear point guard Kristen Hughes and second-year guard Kristjana Young to form an allNorth Van starting backcourt trio that has pushed the Thunderbirds to No. 3 in the national rankings heading into the winter semester.
"It's normally Kris, Kristen and me that are first announced," says Vieweg. "It sounds really funny."
The Thunderbirds host the Universities of Alberta and Saskatchewan this weekend - two other teams ranked in the nation's top-10 - and the three North Van stars will be front and centre as UBC aims to race back into the national spotlight after three years of early playoff exits.
"It's really cool, I love it," Vieweg says. "I'm really proud of the fact that the three of us are from North Van, same roots, same background."
The North Vancouver connection doesn't stop there either. Alexandra's sister Erika Vieweg is a third-year player finding her stride after a couple of injury-plagued seasons while Stephanie Bell is in her first year out of Argyle learning the game as a CIS rookie. All five of the players are Argyle or Handsworth grads and all have gone through the North Shore-based 3D Basketball Academy whose director, Ramin Sadaghiani, is an assistant coach with the Thunderbirds.
The connection goes back even further to Kelsey Blair and Erica McGuinness, two North Van standouts who won multiple national titles with the team, each earning championship MVP honours along the way. McGuinness was in her last year when Alexandra first arrived on campus.
"Erica kind of showed me the ropes and she was like my mentor in first year," says Alexandra. "When I came on my first visit here she was the first person who introduced herself to me."
"That was sort of the start of the North Shore connection and then it's just continued to flow from there," says UBC head coach Deb Huband. "It's a nice connection. I think it's been a winwin for the players that have come into our program and for the program to excel as it has."
The Thunderbirds may have a future MVP in Young, a Handsworth grad who helped the Royals win back-to-back provincial titles in 2009 and 2010. The athletic wing player has blossomed in her second year, leading the Canada West conference in scoring with a 20.5 point-per-game average so far this season.
"She's playing unreal," says Alexandra. "She was really good last year but I didn't expect her to make such a jump so quick."
Young was a great defender as a rookie and has now found confidence on the offensive side as well, says Huband.
"With a lot of encouragement and a little needling she's been able to be more aggressive and assertive offensively. We've seen some games where she's dominated in almost an effortless way. I think she's still building her confidence but also getting more explosive in one-on-one play and that's just opening up more opportunities for her on the floor."
Though she's currently leading the league in scoring, Huband says Young is just scratching the surface of her potential.
"I think we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg with her. As she gains more experience and keeps developing physically and refining her game I think there's even more of an upside than you see right now."
Young says she has learned a lot from watching her old North Van friends in the starting lineup.
"(Alex) is the hardest working player - always, everyday," says Young of the elder Vieweg who is a team captain and also the boss in charge of the players' off-court strength and conditioning training. "Every set of lines, every game she's just like everywhere."
Hughes transferred to UBC after three years at the University of Victoria. After red-shirting for a year she jumped in as the starting point guard despite playing mainly as a shooting guard at UVic.
"She's tough," Young says about Hughes. "It's nice to play with her because she's got a little more spunk and edge to her. It's nice - if something is not going right she'll get on us and kind of flip it around. She's a really good leader."
Those three players are first, second and third on the team in minutes played so far this year and they will have a huge influence on how far the Thunderbirds go this year.
"They're critical to our performance," says Huband. "All three play substantial oncourt and off-court roles for us. As three starters they carry a responsibility of performance on a day-to-day basis and help us set the tone."
With that responsibility on them it's helpful that they have strong bonds between them going back many years, says Huband.
"It's nice that they have a North Shore connection and that they've known each other for many years because it brings a natural and comfortable chemistry to the group," she says. "They get along very well and communicate well together and I think it just helps in general with our chemistry and the feel of family that we have with our team."
Their shared histories show up in subtle ways on the floor, says Young.
"We all played a lot of 3D, a lot of basketball," she says. "I think we all kind of learned the same set of skills and the same way to play so that kind of helps us play together now. We all kind of follow the same basic things that we learned when we were younger."
They're all hoping they can share one more thing as well: a national title.
