By Jonathan Reynoso
Story photos by Daniel Carrero and Mitchell Fox
The Darcel Wright Memorial Classic, a women’s basketball tournament hosted at the Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), was held for the 36th year between Oct. 18 and 20.
The tournament exists to honour the life of the late Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) hall-of-fame guard Darcel Wright and is composed of a three-day-long competition between eight of the best women’s basketball teams across Canada.
While many teams put up big numbers during the tournament with impressive offensive performances, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies were yet again the stand-out team of the tournament. They took home their second-straight Darcel Wright Memorial Classic trophy with two dominant victories on Friday and Saturday, followed by a 62-54 win over the TMU Bold in the tournament final on Sunday.
The tournament featured the TMU Bold, Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, McMaster Marauders and Western Mustangs from Ontario University Athletics (OUA), the Concordia Stingers from the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ), the Acadia Axewomen and Cape Breton University Capers from Atlantic University Sport (AUS) and the Huskies from Canada West.
Teams from across Canada not only use this tournament to battle-test themselves for the upcoming regular seasons while also representing Wright with diligent play on the court.
“A great player that passed away, it’s a good way to honour her,” said Chris Rao, interim head coach for the Capers.
Wright, who played for the then Ryerson Rams from 1990 to 1994, passed away on March 5, 2008 after a battle with colon cancer. This tournament—renamed in her honour that same year—represents her resilience.
Going into this pre-season tournament, coaches and players look to iron out all the wrinkles heading into their respective seasons.“Those are great opportunities to get better,” said Bold head coach Carly Clarke after their win on day one of the tournament against the Capers, spearheaded by fifth-year guard Kaillie Hall’s 24 points.
The first day of play on Friday was filled with high-intensity and impressive offensive performances. It was kicked off with a down-to-the-wire game between the Mustangs and the Axewomen, where Acadia carved out a 64-59 win thanks to 20 points from fourth-year wing Sarah Russell and a double-double from fourth-year forward Sarah Delorey.
The following match between the Huskies and the Marauders was a stand-out game out of the first day of action as the Huskies came out on top with a dominant 72-47 victory.
The Huskies’ backcourt and control of pace were crucial to their first-round victory. Fourth-year guard Gage Grassick and third-year guard Logan Reider lit up the Marauders, going a combined 6-14 from deep.
“Our guard play is extremely important to us,” said Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidas. “Grassick is an amazing point guard for us. She really controls the game. [She] gets a lot of open looks for teammates, is a super unselfish player, but can also score herself. She is really everything for us.”
For teams like the Huskies, the tournament provides some much-needed runs as they have had a short pre-season compared to some of their competitors.
“We’ve only had one game against a U Sports opponent and two others against a college team. So we’re a little bit behind some of the other teams here,” said Thomaidas. “It was good to get the first win under our belt.”
The competitive spirit carried over to the second day of play, where teams like the Marauders and the Stingers snagged their first wins of the tournament. At the same time, the Bold and the Huskies ended the day undefeated.
Even in defeat, teams take home valuable lessons from their losses to help them prepare for their upcoming seasons.
“Obviously a little disappointed, but we are happy [with] the way we bounced back,” said Golden Hawks head coach Paul Falco after his teams’ nail-biting loss to the Bold. “We just did not have enough at the end of the fourth quarter to get over the hump.”
This tournament allowed local talent to shine. Toronto products like first-year Capers forward Kiyara Letlow—who exploded for a tournament-high 31 points to lead Cape Breton to a 91-79 win over the Mustangs on the third and final day of action—were big factors.
“We don’t get to play these teams a lot, so we can come out to a tournament like this and play in a different competition,” said Letlow. “It is a different level in the OUA, so I really enjoyed being out here.”
The tournament also showcased some of the talent in U Sports. To cap off an exciting tournament, the Bold took on the reigning champs, the Huskies, in the championship match for the second year in a row.
The Huskies overcame a valiant effort from the Bold with the help of another strong performance from Grassick, who put up a game-high of 27 points to push the Huskies past the Bold to win the 36th annual Darcel Wright Memorial Classic.
“Always happy to get the win here, for sure,” said Thomaidas. “It’s always tough playing in another team’s home gym for the final.”
Overall, the tournament held up to its legacy, with countless electric performances and fierce end-to-end plays energizing a crowd of friends, family and students from across the country at the MAC. Players like fifth-year Bold forward Callie Wright gained more confidence heading into the regular season.
“It was fun to adapt and change your game plan for each team—it really kept us on our toes,” said Wright, who has since made her regular season debut in the Bold’s season-opening victory over the Nipissing Lakers on Friday.
“I’m just really looking forward to the regular season starting.”
(DANIEL CARRERO/THE EYEOPENER)
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