Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Noelle Kilbreath introduced herself to #GriffNation on Nov. 16.
Draining three treys, the rookie guard bucketed 13 points and led the MacEwan Griffins women's basketball team to a huge victory over Thompson Rivers University.
The performance came in just 15 minutes on the court, providing a glimpse of the potential that head coach Katherine Adams sees in her young charge.
"She has a knack for scoring," said Adams. "She's come from programs in Calgary, both in club and in school, where she's been relied upon heavily to be a scorer. She has a nose for the ball. She has a great touch and ability to put the ball in the hoop, so it's something we're excited about."
In fact, Adams watched Kilbreath score 51 in an Alberta 2A high school provincial tournament game for Calgary Christian last year. So, to watch her contributing early in her Canada West career comes as little surprise to the coach.
"This is what I envisioned for her," she said. "You have to be talented to score 51 no matter what level you're playing at. We knew she had that ability.
"Yes, there's an adjustment due to the pace and physicality, but we expected her to be able to step in and provide what she has for us in terms of scoring."
After a month-long break from competition between semesters, the Griffins (2-6) will resume action this weekend when they host Manitoba (3-5) on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
Kilbreath is happy to receive any minutes she can, which she knows isn't a given for a rookie learning the ropes at such a high level that is Canada West.
"I still am not expecting much. I'm just trying to take advantage of every second on the court," said the product of the Genesis Basketball club in Calgary. "Every minute in practice is really important for me to keep playing at that high level – keep getting better, asking questions and keep learning.
"That game against Thompson Rivers, I really felt like I contributed, so that felt good after," she added. "There was really good ball movement going on, so I had open shots because my teammates were moving the ball. But it felt really good to execute it and just feel like I contributed by putting points on the board. We ended up playing really well the rest of that game."
So far, Kilbreath is averaging just 9.3 minutes a game, but she's managed to produce 3.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals each outing. It's an important learning season for her as she grows into her potential. Adams sees her as a building block as the program aims to return to the Canada West post-season for the first time since 2017.
"She's an unbelievable person," said Adams. "When you talk about the type of player you want to build your team around, she is it. Great player, high character, really looking out for others and always wanting to put in extra work – exactly what we want to build the program around."
Her character was honed during an eye-opening trip to Ethiopia to help villagers get a new water well when she was 15. Kilbreath was asked by her teacher to join her and a group of adults with the Run for Water organization in bringing aid to the African country.
"Part of Run for Water's platform is they teach the people to take care of it," she explained. "A lot of times organizations will come in, build something and just leave it, so teaching them how to use it and sustain it so they can have clean water (was key).
"We were able to see how they got their water," Kilbreath continued. "The women would have to walk, I think it was five kilometres down a big hill to fill up their water jug. They'd be carrying these 30-pound water jugs on their backs up the hill. We did that walk with them and it was just crazy."
Perhaps her biggest takeaway was the gender inequity she encountered as only the women were required to carry the water.
"The women will go fetch the water and everything," she said. "But that's also part of their way of life, so (it gives) perspective on international feminism. It's just interesting to see that. I never experienced anything like that before."
That's given her an interest in gender studies.
"When I was there, I struck by people doing their work and how passionate they were about it. So, I was like what's my passion? How do I impact the world?
"As hard as it is to make a difference, it's not. I'm really interested in learning about international feminism and within our country now."
And on the court, she will continue to do her part for a Griffins team aiming to get into the playoff picture in the second half of the season.
"We've had a lot of good conversation within our team of just taking it to the next level," said Kilbreath. "We know we can be a team that moves the ball well for each other that plays gritty defence and that's a really fun team to be a part of. We've also had some not-so-fun moments.
"Hopefully against Manitoba this weekend – we've really been working on our 1 v 1 defence – so hopefully that will really show, and we can play for each other."