Jacob Smith
Emma Weltz is a 5’7 point guard from Timmins Ontario who has won a national bronze medal, a national silver medal and a OUA silver medal, but long before that the journey started with a trio that would set the foundation for a build to one of the greatest in the country. Emma attended O’Gorman High up until grade 12 where she moved to Southwest Academy of the OSBA, far away from her home but towards two people who would go with her to the next destination.
Laura Donovan, a 5’11 shooting guard from London Ontario and Claire Litchfield, a 5’6 guard from London Ontario, also attended Southwest during the 2017 season, and the eventual friendship that would grow from their year together away from home made the transition to their next step that much easier.
“Playing with Laura and Claire was an awesome experience, I quickly became very good friends with the both of them and that made my transition to the OSBA a lot smoother and easier. There were so many good OSBA teams that we played against and that was crucial to my development as a player and allowed me to get to where I am today,” Emma reflected on her year in the OSBA.
Though they all ended up in the OUA playing for the Queen’s Gaels, Emma says “it was never a plan, it just worked very well for us. We were all being recruited by different schools at the time. I had committed to Queen’s pretty early into the OSBA season and they decided a little later but I was so excited when they decided to commit because we were already great friends and we were that much more comfortable.”
The easier transition to the next level and the Queen’s Gaels coached by Dave Wilson, set Emma off on a strong foot as she earned Queen’s Women’s Basketball Rookie of the Year playing all 23 games at 14.2 minutes per game. Emma didn’t become a full time starter until her third year but starting 15 of 22 games in her second year, she showed early that she could make an impact in the fast paced guard centric style that Queen’s operates.
Emma came into Queen’s with Laura Donovan who would be with her throughout her entire Gaels career and Abbey Hetherington who would be there through all but her final year. They were joining Bridget Mulholland who would also be there throughout all five years of Emma’s career, and in her second year, a fifth was added. Julia Chadwick joined the team the year after to form a pact of five that grew closer and closer through the years.
“We got used to each other very quickly. Especially between the last two years, we’ve figured out how to really play with each other and we know how to distribute the ball between one another.”
The Gaels got a new interim head coach in 2019, James Bambury who was an assistant coach under Dave Wilson previously. With that new leadership, the Gaels built on their previous results, finishing with the same 15 wins but making it a game further in the OUA playoffs, beating the Laurier Golden Hawks and falling to the TMU Bold in the second round. Emma doubled her points and rebounds per game in her second year shooting at a higher percentage.
The next time Emma took the court was 2021-22 after the season was shut down in 2020 for the COVID-19 pandemic. “Training in COVID was certainly an adjustment. We definitely had to be creative in practice. For instance, we had outdoor basketball nets set up on the concrete behind the Queen’s football stadium, and practiced there until we were able to be back together indoors. I think getting to play our first game after COVID was so exciting – it felt like the time would never come. I think playing through those times was a testament to our team’s resilience.”
Emma’s first game back was a 85-52 preseason win over the Western Mustangs on October 16 2021, a lead-in to a very unique season. The OUA decided going into the 2021 season that due to the ongoing pandemic, the best option for a season was to limit as much travel as possible, creating a 14-game schedule where the OUA was split in half and the eastern and western conference would only play games within their own conference.
The Gaels went 9-5 during the shortened regular season, losing to the eventual undefeated champions in the TMU Bold, 67-58 in the second round of the OUA playoffs. Though the chance for a OUA title ended early, their season wasn’t done yet as they hosted the U SPORTS Final 8 at the Queen’s ARC, setting themselves up with a first round matchup with the Saskatchewan Huskies in front of a raucous crowd.
“It was an unbelievable experience, the support we had from friends and family and the alumni,” Emma said of hosting the national championship tournament, “it was electric in the gym and I think that really helped us get to where we got to that year. We went in with nothing to lose and we just wanted to defend our home court. I wish we could host nationals every year because it was the best experience.”
The Gaels game against the defending National Champs in the Saskatchewan Huskies ended with a 62-55 victory. Emma had 16 points on 5 of 9 shooting, backed up by 19 points from Julia and 12 rebounds from Sophie holding the Gaels efforts inside the paint against a physical Huskies squad.
Up next the Gaels went against the efficient shooting of the Winnipeg Wesmen in the U SPORTS Semifinals. Winnipeg shot 49 per cent from the field in the game leading them to a 80-78 victory, and it was the three point shooting of the Gaels and the point guard skills of Emma that kept the Gaels in it until the end.
With one game between the Gaels and a bronze on their own court, they used their physicality and relentlessness to get through the Brock Badgers. They defeated Brock 75-57 in the U SPORTS Bronze Medal game and behind six made threes from Bella Belvedere, five assists from Emma and 16 points and 13 rebounds from Julia, the Gaels were medalists in the National Championship, with only room to grow going into the following year.
Emma’s fourth season with the Gaels is by all counts her best. From a team perspective going 21-1 and making it to both the OUA and U SPORTS Championship final. The core of Laura, Bridget, Julia and Emma looked as dominant as ever and there was really no team outside of the other top two in their division in Carleton and Ottawa, that could run with them for 40 minutes.
Through the years, the core had been learning how to play together, and the connection of two who had been together since the OSBA, became a lethal one-two punch that fans saw many times throughout the 2022 season.
“My chemistry with Emma on the court has definitely grown over the past 7 years playing with her,” Laura Donovan noted. “She is one of the quickest guards I have ever played with, and she has an impressive ability to break down her defenders and get downhill. I have had to learn to quickly find windows for her to find me on the perimeter since she collapses the defence so well. Over the years we have both figured out how to best compliment each other on the court and I am excited to see how this continues this season.”
From an individual perspective, Emma started the most amount of games in her fourth season in 22 games. She started 26 minutes per game, down from 30 the previous year but in an expanded back-to-normal schedule, shot a career best 35 per cent from three, put up a career high 72 assists and a career high 198 points over the course of the season.
The only team Queen’s lost to throughout the year was Carleton, falling 64-32 to the Ravens in the regular season, 70-57 in the OUA championship and 71-59 in the National Championship final. The signature on a great season from Emma came in the first game of the championship tournament, against the UQAM Citadins. In a 75-72 overtime victory over UQAM, Emma put on display exactly why you want her leading your team in any situation. She played 40 minutes, shot 56 per cent for a game high 29 points, accrued four steals but on top of the numbers, she led the team through constant pushbacks from the Citadins.
Emma showed that she wanted it more than anyone she was going up against, and that leadership and energy is something she prides herself on, “A lot of my leadership is based off my energy that I have for my team.”
It doesn’t take you long watching the Gaels to see Emma’s energy and the pride she plays with every minute of the game. Channeling that energy into success on the floor will come with some help in Emma’s final season. The Gaels announced a group of recruits with some height and versatility, and Queen’s push for a national championship is retooled and refocused.
The opportunity is there to be the team of last year but take home the championships they fell just short of in 2022. From her Queen’s Rookie of the Year season, to becoming a full time starter two years later, every season has been growth for Emma and the Gaels, and now the standard is championship. The 2022 season set records, now the 2023 season is implanting a legacy and going out as a leader of a historic Queen’s Gaels era.
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