By Josh Beneteau
Keneca Pingue-Giles, star of the Ryerson women’s basketball team, was named to the OUA second-team all-star team Tuesday.
“It feels awesome to be recognized,” Pingue-Giles said. “I’ve put in a lot of work in the off season and during season, so I am glad that my effort and performance has been noticed by OUA coaches.”
Pingue-Giles, a third-year criminal justice student, led the team in pretty much every offensive category. This included career highs in total points, 325, rebounds, 142, and shooting percentage, 46.4.
“It’s always nice to have an athlete recognized for their performance this season,” head coach Carly Clarke said. “I’m proud of Kenny and the progress she showed this season and how she stepped up for us.”
Pingue-Giles’s play helped the team finish fifth in the OUA East division. Unfortunately, the team lost their quarter-final match to U of T 69-66. Pingue-Giles put up a team high 18 points in that game.
“I had a slow start out of the gate, but I managed to become more consistent as the season went on,” she said. “Without the help of my teammates in practice challenging me every day, my progression would not have been what it was.”
Head coach Clarke said Pingue-Giles has grown a lot this year — both on and off the court. She said Pingue-Giles has the highest GPA on the team.
“She is capable of bringing a defensive tenacity that contributed to our team causing opponents fits with our full court pressure,” head coach Clarke said. “Off the court, she is a leader amongst Ryerson athletics and the greater Ryerson community — involved in several committees, events, etc beyond just basketball.”
Going into her fourth season with the Rams, Pingue-Giles said she needs to be a leader on the team — and being recognized by the OUA shows that she is up to the challenge.
“I am now a person that my teammates look up to, and I have to set an example,” she said. “Hopefully this will fuel the fire in them to progress as a team in hopes of an OUA East championship [next year].”
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