Going into the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) Basketball Championships this weekend, the St. Thomas University Tommies aren’t sure who they are going to play just yet, but that doesn’t have them phased.
The Tommies have a first round bye in the playoffs, thanks to finishing second overall in the regular season. They will face the highest remaining seed after games on the first day.
“We aren’t looking past any teams in playoffs,” said long time head coach Fred Connors. “We can see three teams potentially, so we are focusing on getting ourselves ready to play our best basketball and force teams to adjust to us.”
The Tommies could face the Mount Allison Mounties, the UNB Saint John Seawolves or the UKC Blue Devils. If the Crandall Chargers (6th seed) win their first round matchup they would automatically face the Mount Saint Vincent Mystics, who finished first in the ACAA.
The Tommies have been playing some great basketball down the stretch, as they closed out the season going 10-1. Over that stretch they have scored 72.6 points per game, while allowing only 48.9.
“I feel we have played better since Christmas because the girls have been working hard on their skills and conditioning,” said Connors. “They come to practice every night with a lot of spirit and energy and really play well together. We try and simplify the game for them, but they have been working hard to be a little bit better every night in many ways. Their confidence has risen because of all the things they have done.”
STU ended the regular season having the second best offense in the league, but Connors feels it’s his team’s defense that can change a game.
“We have a very balanced attack on both ends of the floor. We are driven by our defense and play off that energy. Some of our players may score more than others, but we need everyone defending together and moving the ball unselfishly if we are going to win.”
When asked what it would take for his team to win their semi-final and punch their ticket to the finals Connors kept it very simple.
“We need to score more points than they get. At least one more. As that is the rule in basketball to declare a winner.”
The Tommies will open their Championship play on Saturday, March 2nd at 2:00pm from Crandall University. The games can be viewed at acaatv.ca.