By Natasha White, Staff Contributor
October is here, and with it comes ball. Basketball that is. Life is gooood. The hole in my soul fills with every pound of leather against hardwood.
The Tigers women took to the floor first this season, hosting both Guelph and Laurier last weekend. After the 71–53 victory Friday night against visiting Guelph, head coach Anna Stammberger was hesitant to comment too much.
“We did some good things and some bad things. It’s too early in the season for specifics. We need to work on a lot of things.”
Stammberger is in her second year leading the Tigers squad, joined by assistant coach Tina Lum. The coaching staff took a bit of a nap in the second quarter, allowing centre Tia Gerwatoski to stay on the court with three fouls late in the first half. True to Murphy’s law, Gerwatoski committed her fourth before the half was over.
Day 2’s game against Laurier also brought out early foul trouble. Second-year Anna von Maltzahn collected her second in the opening two and a half minutes. She would sit for the remainder of the quarter. Von Maltzahn was, however, a major contributor on both defence and offence. Look for von Maltzahn to become a leader on the court as the season progresses.
Sadly, Dal wasn’t too interested in defending the baseline this weekend, and both Guelph and Laurier took advantage. Saturday night’s game saw Laurier take the Tigers 67–52. Devoting some serious time to rebounding and blocking out will serve the Tigers well. And if we could take the exaggerated two foot stop out of their vocabulary, that’d be swell too.
Overall, Dal looked very promising. There were doubts whether this newly-formed Tiger team could develop the chemistry needed to be a contender in the AUS. Passing, last year’s Achilles heel, is already noticeably improved. And though the threes weren’t dropping versus Laurier, going one for 16, they’ll come. After these exhibition games, the hope is alive. The talent is there. The heart is palpable. Give these ladies a couple of months and the ball will improve exponentially.
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