This year, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams put up solid seasons, each finishing in the top two in the OUA, with the Men’s team winning the Wilson Cup in dramatic fashion.
By finishing in top spots in their respective divisions, the Gaels earned themselves the opportunity to compete for the national championship. The Women’s Basketball U SPORTS Championships will take place in Edmonton, Alberta, while the Men’s Basketball U SPORTS Championships will take place in Quebec City.
READ MORE: Queen’s Men’s Basketball win OUA Championships
This week, I’m recapping the Gaels’ playoff efforts thus far, as well as identifying and proposing possible areas for improvement or reinforcement should the Gaels hope to secure a national title.
Men’s Basketball
The Men’s Basketball team had nothing short of a magical OUA playoff run, overcoming steep deficits twice to secure wins in their OUA semi-finals and finals games.
With the semi-final game going into double-overtime, there should be no doubt the Gaels can offensively keep up with anybody. However, should the Gaels hope to secure wins against teams like the Victoria Vikes, who have had killer seasons, the Gaels have to ensure they never find themselves down by more than a possession.
Part of this is buying in. There’s a particular commitment to defence when watching players like the Syllas brothers (Cole Syllas, Sci ’24, and Luka Syllas, ConEd ’24), Michael Kelvin II, ArtSci ’25, or Fofo Adetogun, MIR ’25, who are constantly putting themselves in the position to make big plays on the defensive side of the court.
With OUA Coach of the Year Steph Barrie on the bench, I have no doubt he’ll get each of his players to buy in, but looking past this, it’s the off-ball work that was most troubling for the Gaels in the OUA final against the Brock Badgers.
Rebounding was a massive issue for the Gaels on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court. Giving up second-chance opportunities to a team like Brock almost burned them. Imagine what an even more elite team like the Vikes would do with extra opportunities on every possession.
You can expect the teams travelling to Quebec City to be well-studied, knowing about the offensive threats the Syllas duo bring to the court. With this, it might be smart to prepare some of the secondary scoring options, such as Cameron Bett, ArtSci ’24, or Connor Kelly, ArtSci ’24, should the Syllas brothers be shut down.
Ultimately, the Winnipeg Wesmen—the Gaels’ quarter finals competitors—average 16 turnovers a game. If they can keep up the defensive pressure, I have no doubt the Gaels will have success throughout the entire U SPORTS National Championship.
Women’s Basketball
The Women’s Basketball team has a very rare look this year. With a superstar on the team like Julia Chadwick, MIR ’24, backed by a playmaker like Emma Weltz, Nurs ’24, and having a secondary option who is a threat from everywhere in Laura Donovan, Nurs ’24, Head Coach Claire Meadows has the ability to be creative in her playmaking.
This Gaels team doesn’t have to run their play through or centre it around one player, aside from the previously named all-stars, the Gaels can knockdown three-pointers should they get open.
A bit lesser appreciated is the duo of rookie Katrina Renon and Mikayla McFarlane, Kin ’25. Coming off the bench, this front court has shown flashes of dominance, serving too much height and playmaking for most defences’ appetite.
In of the matchups the Gaels will be getting at nationals in Edmonton, Alberta, the Saint Mary’s University Huskies average nearly 30 three-point attempts per game. While only 30 percent of these shots fall, there is focus to be directed towards rebounding and being quick in closing out and contesting these shots.
Ultimately, both our Gaels teams are in prime positions to shock the nation and upset the top talent in Canada.
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