Women’s basketball: Wolves complete a perfect regular season. Is this their year?
An 84-47 win over the St. Lawrence Surge in Kingston on Saturday Feb. 8 clinched an undefeated regular season for the Wolves women’s basketball team and put them on a path for an OCAA gold medal.
This is the women’s third straight undefeated regular season, finishing with a silver medal in 2024 and a bronze medal in 2023.
Could this be the year for gold?
“This group has been super motivated this year to chase gold based on our previous years,” said Jaime McLean, the head coach for the Wolves. “Having gotten silver in 2024 and bronze in 2023, gold has become a big motivator to put in the work and the extra reps.”
The last time the Wolves won gold was back in the 2013-14 season.
“We need to get ready for the West (conference), it’s a different beast,” said McLean.
But the team isn’t too concerned about the playoffs.
“We’re just really happy to have positioned ourselves to be able to play our first playoff game at home and we’re excited to play a team outside our East Division,” said Mallory Katz, a forward for the Wolves. “I’m not really concerned heading into playoffs. It’s a team we’ve never played before, but we feel like we’ve prepared ourselves for it.”
“I don’t have any concerns heading into playoffs,” said Dasia McDonald, a guard for the Wolves. “It’s not going to be easy but as long as we stick to our principles and remember the scouts, it will be fun basketball.
“We watch some clips of their games to see how they play, each player on the other teams’ skills, their plays, and what our focus will be on,” said McDonald.
One thing may come back to haunt them though, and that is their loss to Lambton College for the gold medal in 2024.
“We are expected to play Lambton College in the quarter-finals, which I think could get in our heads a little bit,” said Libby Hirst, Wolves forward. “If we are locked in on our A-game, then I know we can come together and pull off the wins.”
This team has experienced three undefeated seasons together, and they have grown extremely close. But for many of the players, this is their last chance at a gold medal.
“I’m a little emotional, not because ball is ending but because I see these girls more than my family,” said Sydney Moore, a guard for the Wolves.
“It’s been such a blessing, best team you could ask for,” said Kate Dahmer, a Wolves guard. “We are such good friends and we are lucky to have each other as teammates.”
The Wolves have been on fire this season, with their principles guiding the way.
“We have been playing really well this season, we have been able to showcase how deep our bench is and demonstrate how competitive we are on both sides of the floor,” said Dahmer. “I’m super excited to see what kind of competition playoffs has for us and to see how our team will continue to step up and adapt.”
While the seniors will be graduating, the first years will carry on the torch.
“It’s been an amazing season, it always is. Every year Jamie picks out a group of recruits that match the vibe so well,” said Hirst. “I’m very proud of the girls for achieving (this undefeated season). Now that we are crossing over to play the teams from the west, our work is just getting started.”
