The University of Saskatchewan (USask) men’s and women’s basketball teams have resumed seasonal play after the Christmas and New Year’s break.
Both teams are looking to continue making strides. For the men, it’s finding their grove after a lot of bad luck as a handful of star and veteran players have been hit by significant injuries this season.
For the women, there have been some injuries, but all players are expected back this season.
“I think our players have worked extremely hard and put in time over the Christmas break. I think we are going to be an even better team in the second half and see how far we can take this,” said women’s head coach Lisa Thomaidis.
“Losing our six or seven guys from significant injuries, it was tough, led to a slide, tough to lose that talent, tough to regroup after losing many of your starters,” said men’s head coach Jamie Campbell.
The women’s team, despite some changes with veteran players graduating and some short-term injuries, hasn’t missed a beat. They went into the break at 6-2 and currently sit at 10-2, tied with Regina for the top spot in Canada West.
“The goal is always to be playing for a Canada West banner and be competing for a national championship at the end of the season. If we could do that, that would be a great accomplishment, due to the fact we are pretty young right now with our roster,” said Thomaidis.
Thomaidis adds that the younger players who have stepped in for injured vets have been making great strides and providing the team with excellent minutes.
The men went into the break at 1-7 and now sit at 3-9 after back-to-back wins.
“We have had some of our younger players step into some bigger roles, and with that comes growing pains. We’ve had guys step up early and really show potential for the future,” said Campbell.
Both teams are back in action Friday and Saturday when they play the University of Calgary Dinos in Calgary.