Recap The Court

Photo: Waterloo University Athletics

Jacob Smith

Shots may not fall, passes may get stolen, but one thing you can always control is defensive effort. The Waterloo Warriors women’s basketball team prides itself on grit, and to show for it they’ve built a relentless defensive team who’s identity starts inside and will rarely get beat on effort.

Looking at the structure of the team, Waterloo’s strength lies inside the paint which sets a foundation for players along the perimeter to play more free. Jaime Newell has made a big impact in the preseason, and beyond the stats, what her play allows those around her to do, really creates the identity of the Warriors on both sides of the ball.

Having a post player that you know can win the one on one battles on the glass, is a massive relief to the others on the floor. Being able to not worry about needing the numbers advantage or help when the ball goes inside, allows the other four on the court to focus on strictly boxing out and getting loose rebounds, something Waterloo has shown they excel at.

Specifically in their game against York in the preseason, a team who likes to attack the glass and finds a lot of their offensive success playing through contact and getting put backs, Waterloo handled it excellently and it mainly has to do with the length of Newell paired with the effort of players like Summer Pahl and others.

How the Warriors won the battle inside was not solely Newell winning her matchup and getting more rebounds, but tapping out loose balls to the others on the floor who were waiting to spring into gaps. In the three games Waterloo played as part of the Don McCrae Naismith Classic, they won the rebounds in all of them, and in their game against York, 14 of 15 players recorded at least one rebound, showing the team focus on rebounding that the Warriors have.

Waterloo’s team rebounding takes risk away from individual matchups game by game, and matched with their hustle that the players on the perimeter play with, makes it something that can match up with all teams in the OUA. Their defensive identity is built inside-out with the battle in the paint awarding a style on the perimeter that compliments, and causing enough chaos for opponents may push the Warriors further than the semifinals they found themselves in last season.