Recap The Court

Jacob Smith

AUS All-Star, champion and tournament MVP Alaina McMillan has led the Saint Mary’s Huskies to two straight AUS championships during her career. From Brantford, Ontario, the 5’6 guard has helped raise teams to the top at every level she’s been at.

Alaina tried all different sports when she was little, searching for her passion and the one she could dedicate herself to. What she found in her love for basketball and soccer eventually led her to St. John’s College in Brantford where her varsity basketball journey began. Outside of St. John’s College, Alaina got her start with a very well known basketball figure in Canada, Richard Nurse, playing for two affiliated teams, Transway and Bluestar before joining Lincoln Prep for the end of her high school career.

“Playing at Lincoln and in the OSBA as a whole was an amazing experience. I got to play with and against a lot of talented players and i’m honoured to still play against some of them now at the U SPORTS level,” Alaina said of her time with the Huskies in the OSBA playing with and around talent that would go on to the NCAA and U SPORTS. ”It’s nice to follow the careers of the girls I grew up playing with and against because it’s nice to see we are all finding success in our own respective ways.”

Alaina’s success at Lincoln Prep led her to two OSBA championships with the Huskies before moving on to the next level, where her desire to create her own path away from her past led her to the Saint Mary’s Huskies and coach Scott Munro. ”I decided to come to SMU because for starters I loved the city, but also living somewhere new appealed to me a lot. I was looking to go somewhere new, where i could pave my own way without the expectations of my past. I also wanted to go to a program where I could make an impact right away and Scott (Munro) gave me that opportunity early in my career, which I am extremely grateful for.”

The opportunity came in growing a Huskies team who would finish 3-17 in Alaina’s first year, into AUS champions in Alaina’s fourth year. ”We have just continued to get better. My first season as a Husky we were 3-17 on the season, and each year since then we have gotten better,” Alaina spoke of the Huskies growth over her career. ”Our compete level has improved and our team dynamic and chemistry has been able to grow as well. It’s been so much fun to be a part of and I look forward to continuing to elevate ourselves for the remainder of this season.”

Photo: TC Sports Media

Along the journey, Alaina racked up personal accolades, starting in her first year when her 33.2 minutes per game and 13 points per game with 3.9 assists led her to an AUS Rookie Team All-Star nod and the SMU Team MVP.

As the team grew from a 3-17 record to 10-10 in Alaina’s second year, Alaina improved in every category while playing less minutes, shooting 40 per cent from the field and averaging 14.6 points per game with 4.1 assists per game, doing more and more for the Huskies who were growing better and better. Alaina earned AUS Second Team All-Star in her second year and came back from the COVID break earning First Team All-Star as the Huskies went 12-4 pushing to the AUS tournament where they defeated UNB 77-56 in the quarterfinal and lost to Acadia 86-82 in the semifinal. Acadia would go on to win the AUS that season behind the play of MVP Jayda Veinot, but it wouldn’t take long for Alaina to feel that same level of success, as the Huskies would come back for the 2022 season as strong as ever.

Behind AUS Defensive Player of the Year Clara Gascoigne, Courtney Donaldson and the rest of the Huskies squad, Alaina realized the championship potential of SMU in her fourth season of eligibility. A 15-5 season led to victories over UPEI in the AUS semifinal and Acadia in the AUS Championship to capture the Huskies banner and a spot in the U SPORTS national tournament. ”Oh man, what a feeling,” Alaina recalled winning the championship last season, “we worked really hard to get to that point, so it was just so rewarding to see everyone on that team experience it for the first time, together, it was such a wholesome time.”

Photo: TC Sports Media

Alaina’s fourth season saw her start every game of the year, and shoot a career best 38.3 per cent from the perimeter en route to 14.6 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Putting up 20 points and 5 rebounds with 3 assists and 2 steals in the championship game against Acadia earned Alaina the tournament MVP and tournament All-Star nod to go with AUS First Team All-Star and Saint Mary’s Female Athlete of the Year because of her performance throughout the Huskies season.

Alaina grew from the rookie coming in to pave her own path and build something, to the veteran who had taken a team from the bottom of the AUS standings, to the top of the mountain and on a run for a repeat championship. Through the times of growth and success, Alaina has grown as a leader and set the tone for those around her as someone who has been there.

“I find my role here at SMU has really molded the leader I am today,” Alaina speaks on her leadership by example, “each year I feel more settled and confident in my ability to bring the best out of those around me and I have really forced myself into situations that may have been uncomfortable but necessary for my success and the team’s success too.”

Photo: TC Sports Media

Alaina has felt that she has to match what she expects out of the people around her, and as she’s went on through the program, the weight she holds is shifting towards setting up the future as much as it is sustaining the present. ”I feel a huge sense of responsibility as a veteran. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I think i’m at a point now where it’s really starting to sink in that I will be gone and no longer part of this team in four months, but, what I can control is how I manage these last few months and the experience I can pass on to the next leading class. My team is filled with veterans, so it’s up to us to really take our experience and put it to use.”

Alaina put her veteran leadership and experience to use in her 2023 season, and set the team on a trajectory towards where they were the year before.

“I think the most important thing we tried focusing on this year was understanding that we were not going to pick up right where we left off. We just wanted to focus on creating healthy habits consistently throughout the year,” Alaina said of the team’s focus coming into the 2023-2024 season. 

The Huskies 2023-2024 season has capped off Alaina’s AUS career in the fashion most suitable for a player of Alaina’s caliber. Pushing to a 17-3 conference record and the top seed going into the AUS playoffs, Alaina has had a season worthy of AUS First Team All-Star, averaging 15 points per game on 40 per cent shooting, 3.8 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game, with almost 2 steals per game. She led the AUS in three-pointers made and put the Huskies into the perfect position to defend their title.

A first round bye in the AUS Women’s Basketball championship put them in place to see the StFX X-Women in the semi-final where they won 71-61. Four starters finishing in double-digits and holding StFX to 61 points showed how the Huskies excel in all facets, and now it was just getting past second seed UNB in the championship final to claim their second banner in a row.

With Saint Mary’s pushing out early and UNB responding, the game featured a bit of everybody, but as the fourth quarter started, the focus shifted to one person, Alaina. Singing along to Country Roads during the quarter break and dancing with the crowd, it was very clear to everyone Alaina wasn’t phased by the UNB lead that was going into the final quarter. A steal and a dish under the basket for an easy two immediately as the quarter started, set the tone for the rest of the fourth, and Alaina finished with 22 points, three rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks, but the most important of all, a second AUS championship. She put the game on ice and had fun doing it.

The Huskies had defended their AUS throne and defeated the UNB Reds 64-49, and Alaina was champion again. A second tournament MVP to go with her two championships put Alaina into rarified air in the AUS as the Huskies had secured their spot on the throne for a second year in a row.

A champions mindset of knowing what it takes, confidence, belief and a determination to push towards an end goal regardless of the adversity in front of you, those are some of the things that have made Alaina the champion she is, and what will be leading the charge for the Huskies as they look to push towards a National Championship to add to their trophy case.