In 2008, the Gaels were 4-8 and squeaked into the WCSSAA playoffs as a #11 seed. They nearly upset the #6 Southwood Sabres in their first-round playoff game, dropping an OT heartbreaker despite a 26-point effort from Robbins.
Last year, the Gaels improved to 6-6 and earned a first-round playoff game at home as the #8 seed in WCSSAA; however, they dropped their opening-round game to the Elmira Lancers ---- another tough playoff loss, 43-42.
For 2010, however, the Gaels have become one of the top teams in the league, finishing with an 11-1 record (winning their games by an average margin of about 17 points per contest). They will open up the playoffs on Thursday afternoon at home against the winner of #6 Bluevale and #11 SJAM.
We went one-on-one with Gaels' veteran star guard Erin Robbins recently to ask her about her team's improvement and playoff hopes:
CWOSSABasketball.com: What do you think has been the biggest difference (or reason for improvement) between this year's team and last year's team?
ER: There are a few things. Firstly, the KW Lightning organization deserves a lot or recognition. Myself and (teammate) Siki Jez played last season for Coach Allan Bush. He and his assistant coaches guided us and helped to improve our games.
Camille Gardner (co-captain) has worked hard in the off season on her game and is now a big threat in the post position; she is a tremendous finisher inside. Liz McLellan is a great player (Mark's note: Eight 15+ point performances) and is only in grade 10. All 4 of us play club basketball with K-W Lightning. Our 5th starter is Annie Phan who played club ball for the Waterloo Wildhawks in the past. Along with being a great shooter, she is an amazing rebounder for her size and has been key for us this year as well.
CWOSSABasketball.com: What's the biggest key to your team right now (i.e. team chemistry, talent, etc.)?
ER: Cameron is a great school that combines academics (with our IB Program) and ethnic diversity. That really describes our team --- smart, and we understand our differences and we all get along great. We spend a lot of time off the court together bonding which really helps on the court in terms of us trust and being able to rely on each other. Before this season, we just knew each other from playing basketball; this year, we have truly become friends!
CWOSSABasketball.com: With Cameron Heights hosting the semifinals, how great would it be to play that semifinal game at home --- should you advance that far?
ER: Firstly, we cannot look past our first round game. There are a lot of good teams this year. We’ll try our best to win on Thursday and hope to play at home in the semi-finals.
It would be great to play KCI (Mark's note: KCI/CHCI did not play during the regular season). We appear to be very evenly matched, so I think it would be a great game for our supporters and KCI's fans to watch. But most importantly, it would be a fun game to play!
CWOSSABasketball.com: As for you, what are your plans next year ---will you continue to play basketball at the post-secondary level?
ER: I definitely want to continue playing basketball at the university level; I just cant get enough of it. Right now, I am weighing offers from various schools but I have a career goal in mind that will limit what schools are in the mix.
CWOSSABasketball.com: Thanks Erin, and all the best with the rest of your season!
No comments:
Post a Comment