Young X-Women hungry for playoff spot

Antigonish, N.S. – After a two-year absence, the StFX X-Women have their sights set on a playoff berth in Atlantic University Sport (AUS) basketball.

Head coach Augy Jones said "positional balance, collective talent and team chemistry" will be the three pillars of a "new look" squad for the 2016-17 season. 

"One of the things that we focused on was culture and chemistry. I am in my fifth year coaching, so this is the first group of people that I recruited – 100 per cent," he said.

"There is a part of building relationships with players, when you are recruiting them in Grade 11 and 12, going to their houses and they are coming for campus visits. So, this is a team that I have really good relationships with, strong relationships; the chemistry between the players is great.

"So, the fans, which are going to come out, are going to see a team that works together, a team that enjoys playing with each other, and a team that is going to put it out there on the floor as a collective group. There is going to be a real pride in the way that they play," Jones added.

In talking about the youth on the X-Women roster, which boasts no senior players, he noted how few minutes they have played in AUS competition, compared to other squads in the conference.

"We are young and inexperienced, but we are going to be hard-working," Jones said, noting the goal is to make the post-season.

"Both myself and the team feel like making the playoffs at Scotiabank Centre in March is very doable, but we do also know that we are one of the youngest teams in the conference, so we also have a realistic perspective about that.

"We will definitely be hard-working," he reiterated. 

New in blue and white

Eight players will be suiting up for their first seasons in the blue and white.

"All of our freshmen have some work to do, as far as being able to play at the CIS level," Jones noted.

"We are building our team around balance, so we want big players inside, we want people on the wings, who can shoot and score and we want point guards that can run the team."

One member of the recruiting class expected to contribute to that formula is Leah Fahey (Barrie, ON), a 6'4" post, who played for Innisdale Secondary School in Grade 11 and 12.

"She had interest in playing NCAA basketball. I think one of the reasons why we, kind of, intercepted that was her coming on a campus visit to StFX; she really liked it," Jones said of her school selection.

Jones noted that Fahey, along with fellow freshman and club team-mate Katie MacIntosh (Barrie, ON) and sophomore Kendra Smith (North Preston, NS), will provide post play for the X-Women.

"So, for the next three or four years, we are going to be pretty solid at that inside position," he said.

As for Fahey, Jones added she brings a "great post presence," including blocking shots and rebounding.

"She has also got a pretty nice little outside jump shot," he noted.

Caroline Hrabinski (Toronto, ON), a 5'5" point guard, played for St Joseph's College School, the same one that produced X-Women veteran forward Kim Taylor (Toronto, ON).

"She has a lot of court savvy. When you watch her play, you can tell that she really wants to be a point guard and think the game. She, kind of, runs the team like a quarterback," Jones said.

"As a rookie, she has got some acclimatizing to do, but it is nice to have her join last year's AUS rookie of the year – Chelsea Provo (North Preston, NS) – in solidifying the point guard position, with someone who is also young and who is very interested in playing that position, or being a floor general."

Lexy Parkin (St. Catharine's ON), a 5'7" shooting guard, has been battling a shoulder injury, which has kept her out of training camp. It may prevent her from playing this season for the X-Women.

"She is an outstanding and dangerous shooter," Jones said. "What we wanted to do was bring in some three-point shooters, where that was their specialty, and Lexy is definitely one."

Jones became familiar with Maggie Segeren (Komoka, ON), a 5'6" point guard, while doing a basketball camp in Hamilton.

"She and I connected at the time," he said, noting she has "work to do to even crack the roster."

"But, I do know at this point, she is part of the team. She came to StFX realizing how much work she had to do to get on the team and get playing time.

"She is another rookie who is looking to improve over the year. She may not get a chance to play until next season," Jones added.

As part of the first-year Nova Scotia flavour, the X-Women have welcomed forward Allison Reno (Halifax, N.S.), a 6'0" forward from Citadel High School.

"She is a nice pick-up," Jones said, noting the freshman is "used to winning."

"She is a lefty shooter from outside, who played post at Citadel. But, because we have people taller than her who can play the post, I think she is in her element to be a forward who can face up and shoot 15-foot jump shots pretty consistently. She will add to us right away."

Jessica Miller (Mount Denson, N.S.), is a 5'6" shooting guard, who played for the Avonview High School Avalanche. In her Grade 12 season, she captained the team to the NSSAF Division 2 championship.

"I can tell people that a lot of coaches over the last two summers have been asking did I know Jessica Miller and have I seen her play," Jones said, noting her mother played and coaches.

"Jessica is that coach's daughter; she knows the game really well, she has a high basketball IQ. And, more than anything, she can really shoot the basketball and she shoots it with confidence; she shoots it from various positions – off the dribble, on the drive and catch-and-shoot – so she is going to help us right away."

Julia Gomez, a 5'9" wing player, has joined the X-Women program from Spain.

"One of the best things about Julia is she plays on two different teams [in Spain], she coaches two other teams and she loves basketball and has a real passion for it," Jones said, noting Spanish basketball is "very fundamentally sound."

"So, she comes from that type of basketball culture, which we really welcome here, because that's the direction that we want to move in."

Jones added Gomez has "some work to do to get in shape to play at the CIS level."

"I don't know if she is going to make an impact, right away, but I do know that, over the three or four years that she is here, she is going to be someone who really flourishes under our system," he said.

"I think, when she talks about the Spanish basketball system, they don't have as many resources as we have here in Canada, so I can really see her benefitting from the strength and conditioning, and the individual workouts, and the way that we coach here.

"I think her style, within our program, is going to allow her to really blossom," Jones added.

After red-shirting last season, Sammie Amoh (Toronto, ON) will suit up for the first time at small forward.

"She is in great shape, and she is the type of player who doesn't mind throwing her body around and driving to the hoop," Jones said of the 21-year-old.

Back in the line-up

As for the returnees to the X-Women line-up, who enter the season without veterans, such as five-year players Kolbi Roper and Lindsay Lessard, there is the aforementioned Taylor, a co-captain.

"Kim is in her third year of eligibility, but her fourth year of school," Jones said of the forward, who missed a full season recovering from an ACL injury.

"She is great shape and she brings some great leadership qualities to the team. This is the best pre-season that Kim Taylor has had, since she has been at X. We are really excited to see what she does in the league.

"We will need her to step up, because we don't have any more veteran players than her," he added.

Point guard Carolyn Smith (Montreal, QC) is the team's other co-captain.

"She was home in Montreal [this summer] playing with players from Concordia and working with an individual trainer," Jones said.

"She is looking to improve her skills at the point guard position, get more minutes and contribute – in that way – as far as running the team."

Korenda Colley (Dartmouth, NS), in her second season with StFX, after starting her AUS career with the Dalhousie Tigers, also provides a veteran presence.

"She is in great shape and has really developed her game from last year. She is shooting the ball better from outside and I think she is playing with a lot more maturity and understanding, so she is going to really help, as another veteran on the team," Jones said.

Rounding out the X-Women returnees is a quartet of sophomores – Provo, Smith, Holly Scott (Antigonish, NS) and Jamie McCarron (New Glasgow, NS).

"She has had a great summer with us as part of our summer team (Scotia Sting SeleX). She came back to school early and has really been in the gym putting in time on her offensive game and her dribbling skills," Jones said of Provo.

"I think that she really gained a lot of confidence from winning the conference [rookie of the year] award last year."

Jones said he worked with Scott "extensively over the summer," with both living in Antigonish.

"What a turnaround for Holly. When she was 14 years old, she was one of the best players in the province and then, after her ACL injury in her Grade 10 year, she really had a long way coming back, physically and mentally," he said.

"Well, I can happily say that she is back. She is playing with a lot of energy, with a nice bounce in her step and she's got her offensive confidence back, which we are really going to need this year."

The X-Women head coach described McCarron as "consistently, one of the hardest-working players on the team."

"She works hard off-season, she works hard in-season," Jones added, noting McCarron has developed a "deadly" mid-range jump shot.

"From what we saw her in training camp, she is shooting the ball really, really well."

As for Smith, Jones said she has "great hands and footwork."

"I know that she has committed herself to getting in better shape, and she has, actually, done that. She is coming back, in her second year, more confident, able to get up and down the floor a lot faster than she did [last season], so she is also going to contribute," he added.

Joining Jones on the coaching staff will be assistants Doug Partridge (center/posts), Andy MacKay (shooting guards/small forwards) and former X-Women player Alana Lawn (point guards).

The X-Women will open the pre-season Sunday, Sept. 25, when they travel to Bedford to face the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics.

Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.

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