The Olds College Broncos basketball teams are ready to hit the hardwood this weekend for a home-and-home series with the St. Mary's University (STMU) Lightning.
The men and women travel to Calgary-based STMU Friday night, then host them at the Ralph Klein Centre on Saturday night. The women play at 6 p.m., the men at 8 p.m.
The women’s basketball Broncos, ranked ninth in CCAA (Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association) rankings going into last week, have some milestones in clear sight.
Head coach and Olds High School alumnus Avery Harrison was sitting on 499 career ACAC (Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference) victories, while Brittney Thibeaux was closing in on 1,000 career points in just two ACAC seasons, with a 25.3 career point per game average.
In fact, take a look in almost any ACAC stat column, and you’ll likely find a Bronco near the top of the list.
Thibeaux, the imposing forward from Lake Villa, Ill., topped the ACAC in scoring at 25.4 points per game, while St. Paul, Minn., native Kyla Adams, who also played with Thibeaux at the North Dakota State College of Science, was fourth at 17.3 points per game while shooting 41 per cent from three-point range, also good for fourth in the conference.
Thibeaux (9.3 per game) and Piikani’s Macyn Morning Bull (9.0 per game) are the ACAC’s premier rebounding tandem, while Okotoks native Alli Taylor has given the Broncos added depth since moving into the starting lineup in January, averaging 11.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in that time.
Meanwhile, Michaela Allen-Gullion was the clear ACAC leader in assists with 6.5 per game, while also ranking fourth in steals with 3.1 per game.
As a team, the Broncos led the ACAC in points per game (82.3), assists (19.8), and blocks per game (2.8), and were second in steals per game (13.7).
With a trip to Fort McMurray for the ACAC Women’s Basketball Championship already booked, Olds College (12-3) is in the driver’s seat in the ACAC South.
Going into last week, they had two games in hand over the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (12-5), and three over the St. Mary’s University Lightning (12-6) and the Medicine Hat College Rattlers (15-3), over whom the Broncos hold the tiebreaker, having won two out of three in the season series.
On the men’s side of the ball, the Broncos (5-10) were fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive.
After injuries plagued the first half of their season, the Broncos have seen growth in the second half of the season, most notably when they knocked off the SAIT Trojans, then the CCAA’s top-ranked team, by a score of 81-80 in Calgary on Jan. 25.
The Broncos have a pair of Reno, Nev., products leading the way in fourth-year forward Jouvon Edison (15.7 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) and rookie guard Logan Shaw, whose 9.3 rebounds per game ranked third in the ACAC going into last week. He has consistently taken on the team’s toughest defending assignments.
Linden Jackson, the Gary, Ind., guard who was an ACAC South Second Team All-Conference player last season, has averaged 14 points per game this season, while Ottawa native Muktar Mohamed has had his moments throughout the season as well, including a 20-point, 26-rebound performance against the Ambrose University Lions in Calgary on Jan. 5.
Going into last week, as a team, the Broncos were third in the ACAC in rebounding (43.1 per game), sixth in assists (16.0 per game) and seventh in steals (7.9 per game).
The Broncos have some work to do if they want to get to Fort McMurray for the ACAC Men’s Basketball Championship, but things are trending in a positive direction.
