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• Hurricanes Women's Basketball: Women hit the court Friday, Men play Saturday in semifinal
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Hurricanes Women's Basketball: Women hit the court Friday, Men play Saturday in semifinal



Joleesa Robinson, Women's Basketball

The Holland Hurricanes will be in Truro this weekend for the ACAA Championships, hosted by NSAC. The women's team, seeded sixth will face the MTA Mounties, the third seed, Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. The men, who are the second seed, have a bye into the semifinal game, Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. They will face the highest remaining seed after quarter-final action.

Women's Preview

The women's team enters the playoffs on a major high. They won two road games last weekend against Crandall and NSAC. Hurricanes Head Coach Kathy Murray was quite pleased with how her team finished the regular season.

"The second half against NSAC last weekend was the best half of basketball we've played all year. I think the girls have started to understand what we need to do to be a good team. Hopefully we can play like that again Friday," said Murray.

The Hurricanes are 0-3 against the Mounties this season, but that doesn't have Murray worried.

"We haven't had great results against them this season, but none of that matters now. I really believe that we're just as good as they are and that if we play the way we're capable of, we'll have a very good chance to win. The girls believe we can beat them too."

The keys for the Hurricanes to beat the Mounties will be focus and decision making. With such a young team, these are the areas that have stung the 'Canes at times this season. Murray is well aware and commented on what her team needs to do.

"We've talked all week about what needs to happen for us to win. The key now will be going out and executing the plan. That's focus. We need to be able to maintain composure under the higher intensity of the playoffs. When we take care of the ball, make good cuts, smart passes and generally do what some would consider the little things well, we're a pretty good team," said Murray.

The Hurricanes will be looking to use a balanced attack to knock-off MTA.  The Hurricanes at times this season have had tremendous runs where they shared the ball, got easy looks and were able to have a great deal of success. Second-year Hurricanes guard Joleesa Robinson knows that's when her team plays their best.

"We're not a team of stars. We play our best when we all work together and it doesn't matter who gets the shot and who scores. Last weekend that's how we played and it made us a much better team. It felt great," said Robinson.

Joleesa also added, "We're so ready to play this weekend. Everyone has really gelled and I think we're going to play great Friday. Last year for those of us that were here, we were a little overwhelmed by the playoff atmosphere with it being our first time there. This year we're better prepared and I'm so excited."

If the Hurricanes defeat MTA, they will face the top-seed Mount Saint Vincent Mystics in semifinal action Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

Men's Preview

In men's action the Hurricanes are in unfamiliar territory when it comes to the ACAA Championships. The Hurricanes 16-5 in the regular season enter the playoffs for their third consecutive season. This is the first time the 'Canes have been one of the top two seeds and therefore the first time they've received a bye into the semifinals.

The Hurricanes also enter the playoffs on a positive note, winning their last four league games. The Hurricanes have used a balanced attack all-season and that will be crucial to their success again this weekend. Nine players have played significant minutes for the 'Canes all season, but they'll be without first-year guard Matt Morrison for the championship weekend as Morrison went down last weekend with a broken collar-bone. The loss of Matt will mean the Hurricanes will likely adjust their substitution patterns a little, but you can still expect Head Coach George Morrison to go deep into his bench.

"We'll be looking to do the same thing we've done all year which is play a lot of people. We want to play aggressive defensively and we do that best when we're getting fresh legs out there," said Morrison.

If the seeding holds up, the Hurricanes will face the STU Tommies in their semifinal game. That's certainly not a guarantee though. The Tommies will face the Crandall Blue Tide in quarter-final action on Friday. If the Tommies win, the Hurricanes await. If they were to lose to the Blue Tide, Crandall would play top-seeded Mount Saint Vincent, while the 'Canes would play the winner of the four-five match-up between UNBSJ and MTA.

Coach Morrison said the game-plan will be very similar no matter who they face.

"There's a good chance we will face STU Saturday. With that being said, I wouldn't be shocked if Crandall knocked them off. The key is to focus on what makes us a good team. It's not rocket science, we need to play at a high level of intensity, but not so high that we stop making good choices. We don't want to rush things on offence. It's all about execution," said Morrison.

"We've been a team of momentum all season. When we've been good, we've been quite good. We have struggled at times though and we need to focus on not getting too high or too low, just executing and getting the job done," said Morrison.

"If we do end up facing STU we know we'll have our hands full. They beat us 2-1 in the regular season and also beat us once in the pre-season. They are not a deep team, but they work hard, are well coached and have a very solid, veteran starting line-up. We'll need to play our best to beat them," added Morrison.

There has been a great deal of parity on the men's side of the ACAA this season. Mount Saint Vincent has still been dominant going 20-1, but the Hurricanes gave them their only loss and several teams have given them a scare. There's no guarantee that the Mystics will be in the final, but most would predict it. If the Hurricanes can get through their semifinal, a game against the Mystics with the championship on the line is likely what will lie ahead.

Aaron Brown, a third-year guard with the Hurricanes has been known to step-up in big games over the course of his career. His team will be counting on him for a big weekend when they hit the court in Truro.

"This is what we play for all season. You put in time all summer, all year long for a chance at winning a championship. We all know what's at stake and we're all focused on winning our first championship," said Brown.

"We know that to reach our goal, we need focus on one game at a time. Whoever we play Saturday night, we'll have a tough game on our hands. That's the focus for now. Win Saturday. Then we'll focus on Sunday," added Brown.

Both the men's and women's ACAA Championship games will be shown on Eastlink this Sunday. The women's final is at 1:00 p.m., the men's game starts at 3:30 p.m.

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For more information contact: 

Jeff Walker
Student Services and Athletics
894-6870
jgwalker@hollandcollege.com

• Hurricanes Women's Basketball on the road to face STU

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Coach Profiles

2008 PEIBA Coach of the Year Kathy Murray leads her team into another season in the ACAA. Murray, also the Prince Edward Island Canada Games coach has many years of experience and has added some veteran talent to her team. The Hurricanes won the ACAA Tip-Off tourney and have proven to be a scrappy team that will fight for every basket. Look for the women's basketball 'Canes to finish in the top four this season.

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For more information, contact Jeff Walker.