For the second time in McMaster history, the U Sports MVP award will return to Hamilton
The awards continue coming for McMaster University’s women’s basketball team. Sarah Gates, who was named the provincial most valuable player award winner just one week ago, has now been named the U Sports Most Valuable Player as the best women’s player in the country.
Gates had an absolute breakout year where she finished with a stat line of 27.1 points per game on a 47.9 field goal percentage while averaging seven point six rebounds. She would also set the McMaster women’s basketball all time scoring record, and the single game scoring record over the course of the season.
Along with this honour, Gates was named to the first team All-Canadian. She was the driving force for the team on route to their 17 win and six loss record.
Despite the outstanding play from Gates, the team was only able to make it to the semi-final round of the provincial playoffs, where they were eliminated by the eventually championed Carlton Ravens. Gates put up 22 points in what would become the final game of her McMaster career, as she will be graduating at the end of the year alongside teammates Mia Spadafora, Arianne Soriano, Pietra Kamstra and Clare Sharkey.
Coming off a big season with five key graduating members, the sense of urgency has kicked in for a team hungry to wreak havoc
The Marauders women’s basketball officially ended their season with 16 wins and five losses, but are coming off a streak of 15 wins in their last 17 games, and have only gotten better as time has passed. Their final two games of the season proved the capabilities of the team, showcasing their talents.
The Marauders downed the Waterloo Warriors on Feb. 17 in a 20-point victory and the Toronto Varsity Blues on Feb. 18 in the way of a 21-point victory. Sarah Gates and Jenna Button played a key role in these victories, Button putting up 25 points, and Gates putting up 36 (23 at half) against UofT. Gates, McMaster’s single game points record holder and all time points record holder, also put up 41 against the Warriors.
“Both of those games were such solid team wins. Everyone got on the floor [and] contributed in some way. When our team is working so well together, it’s easy individually to succeed, and we saw that. . . This is the perfect bounce back from our TMU loss from a couple weekends ago. We use it as a motivator going into the playoffs, and a reminder that we can’t take our foot off the gas,” said Gates.
"This is the perfect bounce back from our TMU loss from a couple weekends ago. We use it as a motivator going into the playoffs, and a reminder that we can’t take our foot off the gas."
Sarah Gates, Women's Basketball Team & Canadian Leading Scorer
Gates has been the team centerpiece all season long, having led all of Canada in points per game, even having surpassed the next leading scorer by nearly 5 PPG, but she wasn’t the only member of the team to find the national leaderboards, as Mia Spadafora led the nation in three point percentage.
“I’m so proud of Mia, that’s something that she’s been striving for. We’ve all known that she’s an amazing shooter. I think that seeing this statistic helps her really believe it, and going into the playoffs, that’s huge. . . It’s really awesome seeing both of us up there,” explained Gates.
The team has been firing on all cylinders lately, but that comes after a somewhat spotty start to the season where they only won once in their first four matchups. However, those games may have proven to be some of the most valuable to the team, especially having come to early on.
“We’ve been on such a good rise. Even in those first games, I know they were losses, but we were learning, growing each game. I think it’s something that our team has been doing so well with regardless of the score at the end of the game. . . That shift in our mindset will give us a great advantage going into the playoffs. We’re ready, we’ve growth throughout this season,” said Gates.
The success for the team comes as a big deal in what was an extremely quick rebuild turnaround for the team. After what was expected to be a down year in 2021-2022, the team still managed to finish with 10 wins and seven losses, surpassing what most expected of them. Despite having provided some resistance in the playoffs, they were eliminated in their second round matchup. The team has been working to improve on that ever since, and their regular season record suggests the realism in that goal.
“Last year [people] thought it was a rebuilding year, we were doing really well but didn’t quite get that outcome towards the end of playoffs. That sucked in the moment, but it was such a fuel to the fire going into a huge offseason. . . It was the discipline and motivation that we had in the offseason that kept us rolling this year. It’s unfinished business,” explained Gates.
"That sucked in the moment, but it was such a fuel to the fire going into a huge offseason. . . It was the discipline and motivation that we had in the offseason that kept us rolling this year. It’s unfinished business."
Sarah Gates
The team will kick off their playoff run on Feb. 25 in Burridge Gym, at home against the Guelph Gryphons. Their last matchup against the 17 win and six loss Gryphons resulted in a final score of 82-73, in favor of the Gryphons on Nov. 30, so it should be a very competitive matchup.
McMaster sports teams and the Mac Athletes Care organization come together to raise money and awareness for breast cancer
Raising money for breast cancer is an annual tradition for McMaster University sports teams. After fundraising online for the past two years, McMaster’s Think Pink Week returned in-person this year from Jan. 16 to Jan. 21., making it even more remarkable with the diversity of teams involved.
At McMaster, sports teams can be organized at the U-Sports, Ontario University Athletics or club level. Competing within different governing bodies can mean different amounts of social media exposure and inclusion.
This Think Pink Week kicked off with several vibrant Instagram posts from McMaster sports teams at every level — from women’s basketball, track and field, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s rugby, to sailing, rowing, cheerleading, field hockey, figure skating and nordic ski.
The photoshoots were spearheaded by student leaders from the Mac Athletes Care organization. Think Pink Coordinator and women’s volleyball player, Christina Stratford, highlighted the importance of including so many Marauder teams.
“A lot of people have brought up how OUA and club teams don’t necessarily get as much representation [as U Sports teams], so [when organizing] the photoshoot, we sent it out to all the Instagrams and as many teams as possible,” explained Stratford.
The united social media presence from these teams resulted in over 1,000 Instagram likes. More importantly, this gesture opened the door for these players to get involved in fundraising booths throughout the week. The president of Mac Athletes Care and a women’s basketball player, Mia Spadafora, spoke with the Silhouette about creating opportunities for every athlete to get involved.
“People forget that men can also have breast cancer and get breast cancer. . . It’s important to have the men’s teams involved to show support but also to give them an opportunity to share their story if someone in their life or a loved one is suffering from this as well,” said Spadafora.
“People forget that men can also have breast cancer and get breast cancer. . . It’s important to have the men’s teams involved to show support but also to give them an opportunity to share their story if someone in their life or a loved one is suffering from this as well.”
Mia Spadafora, Women's Basketball Team
Think Pink Week also featured two volleyball games on Jan. 18 and concluded with two basketball games on Jan. 21. A fundraising booth was available at every event, selling baked goods, t-shirts, pink ribbons and raffle tickets in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.
During the final men’s basketball game, five student athletes cut and donated their hair during half time. The half-time show also featured an exciting performance from the Mac Dance Competitive Team.
“We figured it would be cool to have something going along with the haircutting, so having the dance team come out was a really unique experience and something that we’ll definitely continue – whether it’s dance, or cheerleading or some other club – to include in those events because again, I think it brought out more engagement,” explained Stratford.
“We figured it would be cool to have something going along with the haircutting, so having the dance team come out was a really unique experience and something that we’ll definitely continue – whether it’s dance, or cheerleading or some other club – to include in those events because again, I think it brought out more engagement.”
Christina Stratford, Women's Volleyball Team
Although Think Pink Week has come to an end, the student athlete community continues to seek out leadership opportunities relating to health and advocacy.
