Mac looks to rebound from losses

Though the McMaster women’s basketball team rang in the New Year and second half of the season with two losses, their destination of making it to the playoffs is a road that is still attainable.

After a 62-48 loss to Laurier and a 80-77 defeat to Ryerson this past week, the attention is placed on winning upcoming games and cleaning up play to get the results needed.

Head coach Theresa Burns indicated that the concentration is on future games to come.

“There’s nothing to do now, but move on and be better next time,” she said.

A key area of improvement the team needs to work on is their ability to rebound. Their two recent losses saw the Laurier Golden Hawks outrebounding the Marauders 46-37 and the Ryerson Rams had a 48-34 advantage in boards.

“Attention to rebounding is huge. In the Laurier and Ryerson games, that was the game changer if you had to pick one statistical category, ” coach Burns explained.

Now holding a 6-4 record, the women’s team must win upcoming games for a seat with the contenders in the playoffs.

“I hope the losses don’t bump us out of a by-position in the first round of playoffs.”

With a young team of players, emphasis is placed on having clarity in the game. Having a consistent amount of motivation and energy during the entirety of the game is crucial to the team’s success from here on out.

“We lose focus sometimes. At times, young players don’t feel like they have the green light to go out and take over the game. As soon as they truly believe that they can, they’ll go out and play that way.”

Currently ranked No. 10, it is critical that the team makes the needed improvements and adjustments to ensure that their season is not cut short.

“Ranking is important, but it’s about taking care of business each time. Our focus right now is to have the best effort on Friday vs. Laurentian. We are not thinking about Saturday, but getting ready on Friday.”

The mindset of playing for here and now will ultimately decide whether this team is destined to reach their end goal.

“The results will take care of themselves when you take off that day-to-day nitty gritty,” said Burns, who continuously stresses the significance of having a present outlook and a clear vision by not looking too far ahead.

The confidence level approaching this weekend’s road games against Laurentian and Nipissing are high. Burns said her team needs to “keep the perspective balanced, solid and positive.”

With fans and skeptics alike keeping a close eye on the rest of the season, it will be interesting to see how rankings change and games play out.

For now, the team is focused on winning each game left on the calendar for a chance to be in the playoffs and a shot at an OUA Championship.

Catch the next home action on January 24, 2015 as the Marauders take on the Waterloo Warriors in the Burridge Gym.