Young women’s team needs to improve to make playoffs

By Noah Love

Monitoring the progress of Ryerson’s women’s basketball team this year might be a bit like watching the escalators in Jorgenson Hall being repaired.

They’ve been inconsistent so far, but with a lot of hard work they’ll hopefully be in good shape by the end of the year.

With eight of 12 players in their first or second year on the team, head coach Sandra Pothier will have to get her tool belt out to help the Rams make the OUA playoffs for a fourth straight year.

“I definitely foresee a playoff berth,” said Pothier, who’s entering her ninth season as coach. “But to go far we have to improve.”

Pothier said her team has some talented first year players including post forward Crystal Dickson and post Tamara Alleyne-Gittens. But, she notes that it only has one person in fifth year, guard Miruna Muller.

How far the team goes, she said, will depend on how the new players adapt to a higher level of play.

“If our ‘A’ game is there, then we’ll be ready [for the regular season],” Pothier said. “We have to be working on out consistency and our offensive execution — we’ve really struggles offensively.”

On Saturday, the Rams closed out their preseason with a 68-56 loss to the York Yeowomen in a Raptors Cup tournament game at the Air Canada Centre, The loss lowered the Rams’ exhibition record to 7-6.