By Bilal Siddiqui
The return of women’s basketball for the 2022 OUA season was a joy for all involved. The pandemic has left schools hungry for a playoff push, and the result is a pair of top-heavy divisions with a number of contenders that were off to fast starts. The season may be on pause, but if the return of OUA sports comes to fruition, we’re primed to have an exciting finish and championship race down the stretch
With a long break in the schedule, now is the time to check up on some MVP candidates, as throughout the early season run in, a few names have uncovered themselves as potential favourites to claim the award.
Honourable Mention
Before we get into our early 2022 Women’s Basketball MVP candidates, we have a player we couldn’t fit in our list, but we still wanted to mention.
Kali Porcnic
School: Carleton Stats: 14.7 PPG (9th), 3.8 APG (4th), 46% FG (6th)
It can sometimes be hard to standout on a powerhouse basketball program like the Carleton Ravens, but Kali Pocrnic managed to do just that. The Ravens hot start was tied to the continued growth of Pocrnic, who’s taken greater responsibility on offence. Her dribbling and playmaking keeps opponents on edge, and she has plenty of crossover moves for the highlight reel already. If the the season resumes, look for Pocrnic’s influence to increase as Carleton enters the second half with championship aspirations ever present.
And now, without any further delay, lets get into this list.
Sarah Gates
School: McMaster
Stats: 25.5 PPG (1st), 7.7 RPG, 4.7 APG (6th), 2.0 SPG, 52.6% FG, 38.6% 3PT
Sarah Gates has taken steps with her game every year since she began her career at McMaster in 2017. Widely regarded as the best shooter in the OUA, she was on a scoring tear before the pandemic shut down all U SPORTS action in March 2020. Luckily, she’s picked up where she left off, with a casual 30-point performance to open the season vs Lakehead, and a career high 38 points in a grudge-match vs Guelph. Currently, she paces the OUA in points per game, field goal percentage, and 3-point percentage.
The scoring disparity between Gates and her competition easily makes her the front runner in the early going. But it’s her contributions defensively and on the glass that make her a constant threat to impact any game. Opponents are constantly forced to chase Gates, even off the ball, creating valuable time and space for her teammates. She asserts herself on offence but doesn’t volume sacrifice efficiency, as she’s firmly placed herself among the leaders in 3-point makes and takes.
Expectations are always high for the Marauders women’s basketball team, but Sarah Gates has proven that she’s the leader and star player McMaster can build their gameplans around in their season defining fixtures.
Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu
School: Ottawa
Stats: 20.2 PPG (2nd), 7.8 RPG, 51.6% FG, 83% FT
Ottawa’s Brigitte Lefebvre-Okakwu is another lethal shooter who’s seen her production take an enormous leap in her 4th year. Unlike Gates however, Lefebvre-Okankwu doesn’t rely as hard on her three-point shot. Instead, her close-range game and paint presence makes her a constant threat for easy buckets and fouls inside. She’s a calming presence on offence, rarely turning the ball over and draining free throws at a top 5 rate. These are important qualities that winning teams display when the games get close, and championships are at stake.
There’s no doubt that Lefebvre-Okakwu is capable of affecting games in multiple facets, like her 4-steal performance on opening night, or a dominant 30-point triple double at Ontario Tech. This was one night after playing only 14 minutes against the same Ontario Tech because she helped her squad jump to a 15-0 lead and watched comfortably as her teammates finished off a blowout victory.
Point is, you can’t just pay attention to Sarah Gates as the top offensive player in the OUA, because Brigitte Lefebvre-Okankwu has the Gee-Gee’s one scoring run away from leaving teams in the dust.
Ariane Saumure
School: Western
Stats: 16.2 PPG, 8.5 RPG , 3.8 APG, 2.7 SPG, 46.4% FG
It won’t take long for Ariane Saumure to turn heads if she continues her scorching start to the 2021 season. In only her 2nd year for Western, the Mustangs starting point guard has established herself as a stat sheet stuffer. Saumure is the only player who is top 10 in points, rebounds, and assists per game. Her perimeter defence is unreal, where she creates turnovers using active hands and advanced defensive awareness. Only Guelph’s MacKeely Shantz has more steals per game than Saumure (and the two would’ve met for a double-header in the end of January).
Saumure also does an excellent job playing within Western’s offensive system. The Mustangs boast the highest assists per game and assists per turnover ratio in the OUA. Their pre-pause 6-0 start can be credited to strong first half defence, where Western has held opponents to less than 10 points in four out of six first quarters this season. From there, Saumure and the Mustangs offence can break apart worn out defences, like in wins against Lakehead and Algoma.
Julia Chadwick
School: Queen’s
Stats: 17.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG, 1.6 BPG (25th), 50% FG
A pair of close losses to the juggernaut Rams shouldn’t discredit the great work Queens’ Julia Chadwick has done this year. She’s third among OUA in scoring and is leading the circuit in rebounds per game. She broke onto the scene as a double-double machine her first full year on the team, including a game-breaking 21-rebound performance against Laurier in 2020. Since then, she’s continued to elevate her offensive game, including hitting a career high 30 points vs Laurentian.
Chadwick displays excellent on court awareness. She’s constantly a threat for blocks and steals because of smart positioning and active hands in the paint. This leads to momentum changing possessions where Queen’s top 5 offence led by Chadwick is always a few short runs away from blowing opponents out, like Laurentian, who saw a 4-point game in the first quarter become a 19-point barnburner by halftime.
Samantha Keltos
School: Brock
Stats: 14.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 2.0 BPG, 44.5% FG
We wrote about Samantha Keltos in our Top-4 article, and she returned our endorsement with a fine start to her 2021/2022 season. The Brock Badgers have ripped off 7 straight wins to close out 2021, the longest they’ve stayed undefeated to start a campaign since 2012. Leading the way is Keltos, whose two-way game proves to be a handful for opponents night in and night out. She had a double-double in an opening night blowout of Laurier, including 16 boards, and has been a focal point for Brock’s offence looking to replace the reigning MVP, Melissa Tatti.
Brock is stacked with three-point shooters, allowing them to run an egalitarian offence. But the Badgers squad is built on its defence, and you could see why based off Keltos’ play. She leads the OUA in blocks per game and is a constant presence in the paint. She’s aggressive on defence, leading to steals and turnovers, but doesn’t let her physicality get her into foul trouble. Having a top defender allows Brock to control the flow of games, since they tend to jump into early leads and let their suffocating defence close games out. Having the top defence and three-point shooting team in the conference has Brock destined for yet another lengthy playoff run.
If Samantha Keltos can continue her dominance on the defensive side and lead Brock to wins over fellow contenders Western and McMaster, her MVP candidacy will hit a major boost.
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