Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

The Laurentian Voyageurs women’s basketball team finished the 2022 season with a record of 9-13, fourth in the OUA East. Playing in the division of the 21-1 Queen’s Gaels, 19-3 Carleton Ravens and 18-4 Ottawa Gee-Gees, Laurentian found themselves scrapping for a playoff spot where they lost to the Gee-Gees in the first round.

This year, Laurentian has some gaps to fill as their four leading scorers will not be returning, two of which play the most minutes per game on the team. The Voyageurs lost Helena Lamoureux, Bailey Tabin, Sydney Tabin and Arielle Douillette in the offseason but gained Melanie Cloutier as a transfer from Western, alongside a group of recruits.

The biggest gap to fill is inside the paint. Bailey and Sydney Tabin are two massive losses for the Voyageurs. The toughness they gave Laurentian inside the paint while playing heavy minutes contributed to the Voyageurs being eighth in the OUA in rebounds per game at 40. Replacing them, Laurentian will need more contributions from players like Emilie Lafond.

Emilie played 18 games for the Voyageurs averaging 15 minutes per game. She shot 44.8 per cent from the field for 5.9 points per game, and 2.8 rebounds per game. The Voyageurs have a lot of minutes to fill at the forward spot, and going into her third season, Emilie is one of the most experienced forwards on the roster and her presence will be needed going against teams like Queen’s, Carleton and Ottawa who are so well established in the front court.

Another player to watch is their newest addition from the Western Mustangs, Melanie Cloutier. Melanie came off the bench for the Mustangs playing 15 games in the 2022 season. Where she found her work was around the rim being an added option later in the rotation. She comes in as immediately the most experienced player on the roster and her leadership will be important leading the team of mostly second and third year players, through the ups and downs of the season.

Laurentian’s front court is going to get tested early. The Voyageurs start the season at Ontario Tech before playing a home and away against the Queen’s Gaels on November 3rd and 10th. Going against Julia Chadwick, Bridget Mulholland and the group of tall recruits the Gaels added, Laurentian’s depth inside the paint and who steps up, will reveal itself very early and provide a good benchmark for where the front court is and how it has to develop as the season goes on.

In the backcourt, the Voyageurs will look to Princess Bernardino and Megan Axiak, two guards who led the team alongside Helena and Arielle last season. Princess Bernardino was third on the team in assists per game with 2.0 playing 26 minutes per game and as the backcourt is relied upon more heavily due to the loss of depth up front, Bernardino alongside the rest of the group of guards will have to take a step forward this season to maintain the Voyageurs play.

After two games against Ontario Tech and Queen’s to start the season, Laurentian doesn’t see a divisional opponent until the end of November when they travel to Ottawa for a game against the Ravens and Gee-Gees. The Voyageurs end the first half of the season with two games against Nipissing before opening in January with Lakehead, Ottawa and Carleton.

With the Gee-Gees gaining Ariane Saumure, the Gaels returning most of their roster and the Ravens running it back with all but Emma Keisekamp, the Voyageurs will have a big challenge building on their success of last season. As it’s been over the last couple years, the Voyageurs will need contributions from everybody, though this year more centred around the guards than years prior where the Tabin sisters were the focal point.

Challenges littered throughout the schedule and a probably shift in style with the strengths of the roster shifting to new places. The Voyageurs have lots of questions going into 2023 and we’ll get some answers when the season kicks off in just over one month.