And… Cut! That’s a wrap!

Basketball season comes to an end for the Wesmen

At the beginning of March, Wesmen women’s basketball player Jessica Stromberg was named the Canada West Women’s Basketball nominee for the Tracy MacLeod Award. Kellymortonphotography.com

You could say that a men’s basketball team that loses almost every game in a season isn’t entertainment – and you may be right. Yet it’s the courage of the Wesmen Men’s Basketball team to step out onto the court, with the hopeful ambition that these men did, that is the true spectacle. They went out and did their best every single game.

The last game of the season may have been one of the best games fans have seen all year. The small Duckworth Centre crowd cheered like the Wesmen had just won a championship.

The Men’s Basketball team has experienced mishaps all season, one being the loss of their coach, Dave Crook, midway through the season.

“It’s been a long hard struggle, and hopefully things will turn out for the kids,” Crook commented to the Winnipeg Sun in early January after stepping down from his position as head coach. “The basketball program will always have a big part of my heart.”

The team was shocked and it showed in their play.

Grant Richter ended the 2009–2010 season by leading the team to their first and only win.

The Wesmen will be presenting a new head coach next season and hope to kick off the 2010–2011 season with a full-on comeback.

To the Wesmen Women’s Basketball team, your fans tip their hats to you.

This was the last season Winnipeggers had the chance to see Jessica Stromberg flex her guns at the Duckworth Centre. The fifth-year basketball star was nominated for the Tracy MacLeod Award.

Alongside Stromberg, Catie Gooch, in her fourth year, was named for the third time to the Canada West Women’s Basketball Second All-Star Team. Gooch had a concussion around the end of the season and missed a few games, but she came back to find herself on top.

There’s a lot to say about a women’s team that plays until they are red in the face. It was a pleasure for many fans to watch the team execute proper plays, activate the crowd and bring Winnipeg home-court wins. These ladies made it to the first round of the playoffs and beat out rather quickly.

“We had an up-and-down season,” Coach Tanya McKay said. “We played well at times, beating three top 10 teams in the CIS. At times we did not play well and found ourselves losing games we should not have ... [But] overall, we had a year of growth.”

Training season will be here before you know it. The Wesmen teams are sure to pick up some new rookies in the near future.

Hope to see you next season in the crowds of noisemakers, beer drinkers, chant ranters and, of course, the Wesmen.

Published in Volume 64, Number 23 of The Uniter (March 18, 2010)

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