By Mia Ines

With the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Windsor Lancers women's basketball team is back up and ready nearly two years without competition for the new season ahead. 

The blue and gold open the 2021-22 OUA regular season this Wednesday night at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse when they host the Guelph Gryphons at 6:00pm. 
 
The break of the pandemic brought on new challenges for players to feel motivated to train, uncertain if they would have a season again this year. Lancer head coach Chantal Vallée describes the biggest challenge, "in general has been our physical fitness. We don't realize how much being almost immobile has affected all of us and our health from sitting so much. Even for staff, we realize we need to be more in shape than what you are."
 
Vallée is happy to be back and emphasizes the excitement she has for the returning team and for the players to be back on the court doing what they love. 
 
"We are happy to play, happy to be back, happy to be with each other, and happy to have something to compete for. There are smiles on the floor all the time and we laugh a lot," continues Vallée. When something is in the way, you realize that when you get it back you have to enjoy it. Even more than the score, you need to focus on something greater than just winning and losing."
 
Vallée has high hopes for the team to make it far in the season but not without forgetting to have fun both on and off the court. "Our goal is to grow together. We want to be better at the end more than we were at the beginning. We have a long-term vision and our long-term vision is a process through many years to rebuild a national championship team. We want to have fun. By the end of the year we are going to know that we got better, got stronger as a team, and that we kept having joy while competing will define a successful season."
 
With the departure of some key senior athletes, returning athletes Maggie Denys, Sofia Kennedy and Harriett Carey will be strong assets to set as role models for the new recruits and add experience to the team. "We are really fortunate because we have three returning players that are very high quality people; they're good people, good leaders, they have high integrity, and they have high standards for themselves," explains Vallée. "Having them around helps us lead the team in the direction we want them to go. We are also really lucky because some of our first years are a lot older and having played at other universities and colleges; they come in with more experience and we consider them right away as leaders and veterans in the sport." 
 
As the new talents are ready to get on the court and showcase their skills, Vallée has enjoyed her time getting to know each athlete individually and at a personal level that will help them grow with the team. "We have great local talent in Noor Bazzi, Hayley Woods, and Reighan Dales. These women were born and raised and grew in their basketball career in Windsor that are on the floor and that is super exciting to see. In addition, we have national talent and international talent that come from different countries. It is exciting to see and ask questions about why they chose to study at Windsor. All the players came here because they are good basketball players and they are all exciting to watch. It makes for a certain form of excitement that people are coming to be on the floor and play for Windsor."
 
The 2021-22 Lancer women's basketball season kicks off this Wednesday, November 3rd when they host the Guelph Gryphons at the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse starting at 6 pm. Tickets are available at goLancers.ca/tickets and the game can also be seen live on OUA.tv.