Hurricanes women's basketball faces tough test in Halifax

Rickeia Richardson and Emily Thomas battle for the ball, Women's Basketball

Halifax, NS - The Holland Hurricanes men's and women's basketball teams will be in Halifax this weekend for a pair of games against the MSVU Mystics and King's College Blue Devils. Saturday, the teams will face MSVU with games at 4 p.m. (women) and 6 p.m. (men). Sunday, they will take-on King's with the women playing a 12 p.m. and the men following at 4 p.m.

Women's Preview

The Hurricane women enter the weekend with a 4-8 record. They have a firm grasp on the sixth and final playoff spot and are only two points behind the fifth place King's College Blue Devils. That makes Sunday's game with King's all that much more important.

According to Head Coach Mike Connolly, new opponents bring new challenges, but his focus is much as the same. His team is still in search of consistency.

"Last week we had one good game and one disappointing game. That has been a pretty regular thing for us and it's definitely something we continue to work on," said Connolly. "MTA really gave us problems last weekend. They have definitely improved throughout the season. I am pretty sure they'll finish third in our league (behind STU and MSVU). That makes are game against King's very important. We're 1-1 with them right now and if we have a chance of getting to fifth, we'll need to find a way to win on Sunday," added Connolly.

Hurricanes guard Lindy MacDonald also commented on the weekend.  "Saturday will be our fifth straight road-game. That's tough, but we're going to be ready. MSVU is a tough team, but we just need to take care of the ball and not let them take us out of our game. If we can do that, they're beatable," explained the Antigonish native. She added, "As for Sunday, that's a game we need to get." 

Hurricanes Women's Basketball on the road taking on STU, UNBSJ

Lindy MacDonald, Women's Basketball

Fredericton - The Holland Hurricanes men's and women's basketball teams will be in Fredericton Saturday evening to take on the STU Tommies. Games times are 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday, the teams will be in Saint John facing the UNBSJ Seawolves with games at 2 and 4 p.m.

The women's basketball team, currently 3-5 and in a tie for fifth in the ACAA are coming of a home-split against the UKC Blue Devils.

Saturday, Head Coach Mike Connolly's team will face the undefeated (9-0) STU Tommies. The Hurricanes have battled the Tommies earlier this season in a league game on November 12th, losing 82-44. Connolly knows his team has their hands full against STU, but is focused on competing against the powerhouse Tommies.

"They are a very good team. Fred Connors does a great job over with that program and they are going to give us some trouble. At the same time, if we can play like we did in our game last Saturday against King's, we can give them a game," said Connolly.

"The key is being able to handle their pressure. They get up on you and are good at forcing lots of turnovers. That's an area we have struggled with at times. We've tried to create those types of situations this week in order to be ready for them," added Connolly.

Sunday's game against UNBSJ will present another tough test for the 'Canes. The Seawolves are an improved team this year. They sit at 4-4, good for fourth in the conference standings. This will be the first match-up of the year for the two teams.

Hurricanes point guard Lindy MacDonald says that the team doesn't know a whole lot about UNBSJ.

"We haven't faced them this year so we don't know that much. They do have lots of girls back and we know they're going to be a fast team that likes to run. I think it's a team we should beat, but we're going to have to play well to get the win," said the second-year captain.

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For more information contact: 

Jeff Walker
Student Services & Athletics
Holland College
Tourism and Culinary Centre
4 Sydney Street
Charlottetown, PE C1A 1E9
902-894-6870
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com
www.hollandcollege.com
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