Axewomen Basketball - Preview to the AUS Championship

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – Setting an Acadia record of 15 straight wins, the Axewomen basketball team completed the regular season with a 16-4 record and second place in the AUS standings.

Losing to the Cape Breton Capers in the second of a two-game weekend back on February 6^th – the first loss of the regular season - the Axewomen have faced tough opponents in the closing weeks of the season.

The loss to Cape Breton was followed by two losses to the first place Saint Mary's Huskies and a split of two games against UNB.

The Axewomen were viewed as a top four team heading into the 2015-16 season after last year's second half of the season with stand-out Paloma Anderson joining the squad. This year's opening 15 games far exceeded new head coach Len Harvey's expectations.

From a 4-16 team last season to a 16-4 record this season, the Axewomen have drawn an interest from the local basketball faithful.

"They inverted their record, going from 4-16 to a 16-4 season, missing playoffs last year in last place to being one of the bye teams this year going into the AUS Championships this weekend", pointed out Harvey. "I think amidst the success it was lost at times how far the girls had progressed from just a season ago."

With the Axewomen losing four of their five closing games, followers may have doubts about their success in the coming AUS championship weekend where they were able to hold onto the quarterfinal bye with their second place 16-4 record.

"We are still a confident team. We had the toughest games of our schedule at the end, and we knew that from the beginning. We split our season series with UNB, and took the season series 3-1 with CBU" noted Harvey. "

The success of this past regular season has been due in part to the inside and perimeter game. Third year post, Allie Berry, leads the Axewomen with 8.2 rebounds per game (fourth in the AUS) and is second among her teammates in scoring with an 11.2 points per game average.

Chanel Smith, who is second in team scoring with 11.8 points per game average has been able to drive to the hoop and sink the long shot.

Second year guard, Paloma Anderson, who leads the Axewomen with an 18.7 points per game average and is second in the AUS scoring race, has averaged 10.8 points per game in the last five games.

When asked what the key to victory this weekend will be, Harvey had no magical formula. "We need to have a high compete level; play loose on offense, and work a little harder to guard the ball. With this being the first time for many of our players to be in the playoffs, we need to cover inexperience with enthusiasm and energy.

This year's squad is averaging 2.4 years of regular season experience and playoff experience is at a premium.

"It's paramount at playoff time that the players who play the bulk of the minutes need to be ready to play. We need our starting unit in particular to be gritty and performing confidently and loose, and we need a few key "super subs" to be ready to come in and make an impact on the game from the bench", commented Harvey.

The Axewomen have benefited from a quick transition game this season, becoming the highest scoring team in the AUS with a 73.9 points per game average. "Teams have really tried to take away our transition game as of late, so we need to really play fast and let loose when we have our opportunities in transition to convert", commented Harvey.

Heading into the postseason, the Axewomen lead the AUS in rebounding totals both offensively and defensively, yet they rank third in rebound margin.

Harvey notes that one weakness heading into Saturday's semi-finals is the need to ensure rebounding is one of several top priorities. "We have a lot of players capable of giving us bursts of offense and when we are moving the ball with a flowing offense, we can really take advantage of the other team. We need to make sure that we are rebounding the ball hard", said Harvey.  "We have a tendency to rely on our size here instead of technique, when we are rebounding hard we have won the "board battle" by a large margin."

Despite not having a strong finish to the regular season, the Axewomen still are a threat to defending AUS Champions Saint Mary's Huskies and others vying for the title as AUS Women's Basketball champions. "We have a lot of players capable of giving us bursts of offense and when we are moving the ball with a flowing offense, we can really take advantage of the other team", pointed out Harvey.

While the Huskies have been the only team to remain on the CIS Top Ten, the Axewomen head coach is aware that any given day, anyone can win the conference title.

"I don't think any team coming to play is a pushover. Any time I've seen teams approach a game like that, it's always stung them and they find themselves watching the rest of the games from the stands instead of playing for a banner. We take everyone very seriously right now."