Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – On paper it would seem there's nothing left for the MacEwan women's basketball team to play for but pride when they close out the season with a pair of games at the UNBC Timberwolves this weekend.
At 2-16, they've long been eliminated from the playoff race.
But head coach Katherine Adams noted the series on Friday (1 p.m. MT) and Saturday (6 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV presented by Co-op) in Prince George, B.C. has plenty of valuable lessons to teach her young team.
"I think it's a weekend we know we have to get value out of," she said. "It would be easy to say, 'oh, it's the last weekend, things have been decided and we're not a playoff team this year.' But we have to really use this as an opportunity for us to continue to grow and get better and work towards the bigger picture of what we're trying to achieve as a program."
Getting back to playing like they did two weekends ago when they threw a scare into UBC before losing by 14 might at least allow them to finish off the season on a high note.
"We didn't have results on the scoreboard, but just in terms of our play, we had a pretty solid outing and effort against a tough UBC team two weekends ago," said Adams. "We took a step backward this past weekend in terms of our consistency against Lethbridge, which was disappointing, but it was also motivating for the girls that that's not the note we want to end our season on.
"We want to end on a note feeling proud of what we've accomplished and that we're heading in the right direction, and that there's lots to build and grow on moving forward."
Individually, Mackenzie Farmer has a chance to end the season as the Canada West steals leader. With 57 on the season, she's already moved past the previous MacEwan record of 53 set by Kendall Lydon in 2016-17. That total trails only UNBC's Maria Mongomo (59), who will be across the court from her this weekend.
"Her and Mongomo are 1-2 in leading the conference in steals," said Adams. "Ultimately, the numbers are the numbers and it's more about our team. Some individuals might get some accolades or recognition for what they're doing on the court, but I don't think it's a real focus for them or us."
Mongomo is certainly a focus for the Griffins, though. She and Madison Landry form the top 1-2 punch in Canada West, averaging 19.6 and 19.5 points per game, respectively – second and third in the conference scoring race.
"You always know it brings about a different defensive assignment because they have some dominant scorers who they feed the ball to," said Adams. "It's a tough and different defensive matchup than what we've seen in the last couple of weekends."