A Focused Women's Basketball Team Is Ready To Tip Off: CMU Hosts Briercrest
Seven months ago, the CMU Women's Basketball season ended in a disappointing 2015 MCAC Conference Championship. The Blazer came up just shy of their ultimate goal, falling to their conference rivals, Red River, by a mere two points and were forced to watch the Rebels celebrate their fourth consecutive conference title on the Blazers home court.
Tomorrow night, a transformed team takes the court for the first time since that championship loss to begin a new season that is fresh with energy and optimism. Their opponents will be the Briercrest Clippers of the Alberta Collegiate Athletics Conference as CMU welcomes inter-provincial competition to the Loewen to tip off Fall Festival 2015.
Head coach Joe Di Curzio returns for his third season with the Blazers and will lean on a few veteran players to lead his squad; a team that features six returnees and six fresh faces. Third-year guard Cassie Wiebe, who led the Blazers in a number of statistical categories in 2014-15, was recognized as the 2015 CMU Blazers Female Athlete of the Year and will be one of the players that Di Curzio will look to most.
"Our practices have been high energy and it's really clear that we are pushing each other hard," said the two-time All-Conference selection, "These games against ACAC teams are important to us so we can work out any kinks in our system and find our rhythm as a team."
After Friday's game, the Blazers wil depart for Edmonton next Wednesday where they will compete in the 2015 Alberta College & University Basketball Showcase at the Saville Centre on the campus of the University of Alberta. The CMU women will face the Concordia Thunder, King's Eagles and finish the preseason tournament with a rematch against tonight's opponents from Caronport.
"We have great chemistry as a team from the amount we have practiced together over the summer months and now we just need to apply everything to a game situation," added Wiebe, "all this practicing has us really excited to get out there and play a game where everything we've been working on really matters."
The Blazers will tip-off at 6pm against the Clippers tomorrow night with the CMU Men to follow in an 8pm tipoff against the Clippers. Tomorrow night will also mark the first night for CMU Basketball Fans to Adopt a Blazers. A donation of $100 provides two seasons passes to all CMU home varsity events, a donation receipt for tax purposes, a photo of their favourite Blazer and a chance to win a CMU Blazers Ogio travel bag.
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