Written by Duncan Forbes
The Tigers got off to a rough 2-4 start in the pre-season with tough losses against nationally-ranked Laval and Regina. They turned things around with three straight double-digit wins at the Laval Invitational as they defeated Laurentian in the final 74-52, with Tessa Stammberger being named the tournament MVP.
Consistency issues arose early in the season, as they split three consecutive two-game series against UNB, Acadia and UPEI. They lost a tough game against Saint Mary’s to finish out the first half of the regular season at 3-4.
The Tigers helped host a very successful Women in Leadership Dinner on January 7, where they welcomed over 300 guests and guest speaker Rose Cousins before getting back on the court.
Coming into the second half of the season, the Tigers knew that they had to make a push to contend for a playoff seed in the incredibly competitive AUS league. They stormed to a 4-2 record with back-to-back double digit wins against UNB on the road right out of the gate.
The month of February featured four crucial four-point games that could potentially make or break their season. They suffered a fourth-quarter collapse in their first four-point game at home against Memorial, but stormed back the very next day and put a 73-48 beating on the Sea-Hawks.
The Tigers dropped their next two games, but finished off strong with two convincing victories against the Acadia Axewomen.
Entering the 2014 Subway AUS Championship as the fifth-seed, they faced Memorial in the quarter-final, who they had beaten by 25 points just three weeks before. The Tigers were down four points going into the fourth quarter, but they pushed back winning 70-64. They faced the CIS No. 2 Saint Mary’s the following day in the semifinal. The Huskies outpaced the Tigers 73-53 to end their playoff run. Courtney Thompson had an outstanding weekend and was named to the championship all-star team.
Stammberger was named an AUS first team all-star, while Thompson and Shalyn Fields were named to the second all-star and all-rookie teams, respectively. Robbi Daley was recognized for her hard work leading the community outreach project with Caledonia Junior High School, as the winner of the AUS Student-Athlete Community Service award.
Thompson led the team in scoring and assists with 17.0 ppg and 3.6 apg, all while leading the CIS in free throw shooting with an incredible 94.2%, one of the highest shooting percentages ever in the CIS.
The Tigers had a very young squad this year with seven rookies, but that was no worry for coach Stammberger.
“A great positive surprise for us was the excellent character and team spirit of the 7 rookies, all from different areas of Canada, who joined our team this season,” says coach Stammberger. “The exceptional way in which they gelled with each other and with the returning players was the major contributing factor to our outstanding team cohesiveness.”
All players on the team are eligible to return as they will look to make their way to the top in the new-look AUS that will be more wide-open than ever before.