Season Preview: Kodiaks women's basketball 2024

Last season was a year of surprises for the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks women’s basketball team.

The Kodiaks, under the direction of Ken McMurray, surprised some people with a tremendous 18-3 record to lead the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association (ACAC) South Division. However, another surprise was around the corner when they were eliminated in the first round of playoffs at home.

“We had a little older team last year and I brought in Hannah Helton, who ended up being a South Division first-team all-star,” said McMurray. “We lost a key player at Christmas and she was likely going to be an all-star. Unfortunately, she left us, but I was really excited how the girls picked themselves up after that loss and just went on a run.”

However, it didn’t carry over to the playoffs where they were defeated in the first round by Briercrest.

“Briercrest has always kind of been our nemesis, they played us tough in league play and we split with them,” said McMurray. “Their posts were certainly the difference in that game, for sure. We just had one of those nights where nothing was really going in and they controlled the rebounding which was the difference.

“It ended a little bit early, but overall I thought the season was really successful, the girls really came through.”

Heading into the 2024-25 season the Kodiaks don’t have a large nucleus of veterans to rely on but have balanced that with a solid recruiting class.

“Annah Westrop (fourth year, General Arts and Science, Lethbridge) and Courtney Deemter (fourth year, Bachelor of Nursing, Calgary) are the two starters that are back,” said McMurray. “After that we’re extremely young. Four of the returnees didn’t see a lot of time last season, and we also have six rookies, so we’re going to see how far we can take it.”

McMurray has high hopes for his recruits, who all come from local programs.

“It was a good recruiting class and I think they have tons of potential,” said McMurray. “They’re just making rookie errors at this point of the season, but they’re getting better and better and I’m happy with their progress. Potentially, they could be very good if they stay with it and keep improving.”

Key recruits for the Kodiaks are Halle Aleman (first year, Open Studies, Lethbridge) and Nyomi Heins (first year, Open Studies, Diamond City), both from Immanuel Christian, as well as Bailey Blackmore from Magrath and Layla Vaz from Raymond.

“All four of them had successful high school careers and we’ll see how they adjust to the next level,” said McMurray.

Immanuel Christian has been a provincial 2A powerhouse for the past two years, something McMurray has taken note of.

“There’s some good key players that have come out of that program and hopefully we can keep that pipeline going,” he said, adding having local players is always a priority.

“Local talent is important. It brings fans into the seats and you want to support your local high school programs as well, and this is a nice step for them,” said McMurray. “If they’re capable of being a U Sports player eventually, the college is a nice step for that. Some need that and hopefully we can be the bridge for them to get to where they really want to go. I do have a couple of U Sports girls that I think could eventually move on.”

However, recruiting outside the area is also important, added McMurray.

“Sometimes you have to go outside your bubble and Courtney Deemter from Calgary is a prime example. She was a second-team all-star last year in the ACAC and rookie of the year in her first year. She’s had a good career with us and is in the nursing program and we’re going to count on her for her leadership and all of the other things she does really well including her defensive presence, her hustle and overall scoring.”

As for predictions, McMurray isn’t a betting man.

“I don’t like to put a number on anything. Sometimes with teams like this you can get on a roll and things could go your way, but it could also go the other way, too. It’s a confidence thing with the young players, but we’ll see how far we can take it. At this point we want to make the playoffs, that’s our goal and from there we’ll see what happens.”

McMurray expects SAIT to be the team to beat in the South Division this season with St. Mary’s, Red Deer Polytechnic and Briercrest also contenders.

“Up North you have Lakeland, who returned everybody and were national champions last year. It will be a tough road for us, but we look forward to it.”