The University of Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball team’s fifth-year captain Randie Gibson cannot believe it is her last year with the program. She says she will miss her team when she moves back to her hometown, Regina, Sask., when she graduates with her Bachelor of Business Administration in the spring.

Gibson remembers when she moved to Winnipeg in 2005. Not only did she move out of her parents’ place, but she also moved six hours away from all of her friends and family. Gibson had to learn how to cook, clean and do laundry for the first time in her life.

She laughs when remembering her first term at the U of W.

“I lived off of Alphagetti and chicken strips for the first few months.”

Gibson attributes a great deal of her leadership skills to her past experiences with the Wesmen and relationships with past Wesmen leaders, including Jae Pirnie, Uzoma Asagwara and Melanie Talastas.

“All three were great leaders and I learned positives from each of them. What I admire most about all of them was their loyalty to the program and what it means to be a Wesmen.”

The Wesmen alumni are not the only people from whom Gibson has learned. As an only child, Gibson said she learned a lot from her parents, Mary-Lou and Gordon Gibson.

“During my five years they have rarely missed a game, whether we’re playing at home or on the road.”

Now, entering the last half of her final season with the Wesmen, Gibson is excited and hopes to leave the program without any regrets. In her first two seasons with the Wesmen, the team made it to the CanWest Final Four. The second two years, they made it to the Great Plains Finals.

She noted that the team has a lot of potential this year.

“The team that we have this year is probably the best group that I’ve played with in my five years. On all levels we have great chemistry.”

She has many plans for the next few years, including working, travelling and eventually going back to school to earn her Master of Business Administration.

While Gibson may be leaving the Wesmen behind after this season, she will never leave basketball behind.

“I know that I want to coach. I believe it’s important for elite athletes to give back to the community.”