'Great X-pectations'
The future is bright for the 2013-14 X-Women basketball team. Coming off an impressive 22-9 season last year, many of the key elements of a team that finished second in league play and made it to the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) championship game are back, and prepared to improve on their accomplishments. Added to the positive energy is the fact that head coach Augy Jones had the interim tag removed last spring when he signed a three-year contact with StFX Athletics.
This years X-Women team is returning a very productive group, with four players in the top 25 in conference scoring. Leading the way will be the fifth year multi-talented point guard Lia St Pierre (2013 AUS 1st team all-star, 2010 Canada West 1st team all-star,) and 5'11" Vanessa Pickard (2012 CIS Rookie of the Year) who sat out the first half of last season with severe concussion symptoms.
Six-foot-two Kolbi Roper (2013 2nd team AUS all-star) has established herself as one of the strongest post players in the country. The wealth of talent continues with 6'0" Lindsay Lessard (2013 AUS all-rookie team) and fifth year captain 6'0" Rebecca Sheehan. Rounding out the players that went to last year's conference championship game include second year wings 5'11" Kayla MacIntyre and 5'8" Courtney Kilyk.
The departure of six players from last year's team (Kiley DeLong, Jocelyn Moore, Anne Kiberd, Selali Acolaste, Nicolette Fong Lyew Quee and Alex Martell) was met with an influx of six new pieces. Heading the list are two players who red-shirted last year and are familiar to the local community, 5'8" Melissa Gottschall and 5'10" Shannon Hatch.
Gottschall attended Antigonish's Dr. J H Gillis High School and spent her freshman year with the 2011-12 AUS champion Acadia Axewomen before transferring back home to StFX. Hatch is the daughter of StFX Hall of Fame member John Hatch. After recovering from knee surgery all of last year, this versatile swing guard will be ready to go this season. In fact, Hatch has recently returned from representing Switzerland in the 2013 Jeux de la Francophonie held in Nice, France.
Heading up the list of four incoming freshmen is 6'0" forward Kimberley Taylor of Toronto. Taylor was highly recruited throughout the CIS with several NCAA schools interested in her talents as well. Her athleticism and all-out effort is a welcome addition to the X-Women. 5'8" Megan Thompson of Fall River, NS is a seasoned player who honed her skills at Lockview High School (2013 city and provincial runners-up) and with the Thunder Select Basketball Organization. Six-foot-three Mairead Dunn (Sarnia, ON) and 5'8" Milan Aveyard (Regina, SK) complete this years X-Women squad.
The X-Women 2013-14 season will open with a rare pre-season home game versus Guelph on Thursday October 3rd. This will be followed the very next night with the second annual X-Women alumni game and social. Two invitational tournaments (University of Alberta October 18-20 & Moncton's Don Grant Classic October 25-27) close out the X-Women's pre-season. The AUS season opener takes place at the Oland Center vs Cape Breton at 6:00 pm on Wednesday November 6th.