Rampin Royals > Royals women’s basketball building towards repeat Davie Wong Sports Editor I has been an absolutely tight-knit start to the PACWEST season. With four teams vying for the first place spot headed into the winter break, it has been one of the closest starts to a season that I’ve ever seen. For the Royals, it’s been par for the course so far. Sitting in that dog-pile for first with a record of 4-2, the Royals have looked good fora team early in the season. Their highlight came with a huge 68-37 win over the Langara Falcons to start the year. To be fair, the Falcons now sit at the bottom of the table with a record of 1-5, but at the start of the season, it was fair game. Their low-light was the 69-52 loss they suffered at the hands of the VIU Mariners. A surprise for many as the Mariners weren't the best team last year, but have seemed to found a good vein of form of late. However, their game would have to have been their last. A gold medal rematch against the Capilano Blues went the way of the Royals rather comfortably, 71-53 to be exact. When called upon, the women’s team has shown themselves more than capable of returning to fine fighting form. One major difference changes the dynamic of the team from last year; the return of former first- team All-Star Nanaya Miki has completely shifted the Royals, for better or worse. Offensively, Miki’s 12 points per game have helped the Royals a tonne, yet it comes in place of Sarah Jorgenson’s lack of offensive presence this year. Likely because Mili has really stepped into her role as an all-around forward, Jorgenson has instead been a key defensive leader for the Royals. Her 7.5 rebounds per game has her fourth best in the PACWEST, and her 1.5 blocks per game is second best. Speaking of rebounding, that is again something the Royals do very well thanks to head coach Steve Beauchamp’s focus on it. Nanaya Miki leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 per game, which is second best in the PACWEST. Rachel Beauchamp has 7.2 rebound per game, sixth best in the PACWEST. Beauchamp also has 12.7 points per game, seventh best in the PACWEST. What the Royals are really missing this year is a playmaker. Naturally, with Adelia Paul finishing her PACWEST playing career last year, the transition to a new shot caller has taken time. Nanaya Miki has filled the role well, tossing up three assists per game (fourth best in the PACWEST). However, other than Miki, it’s a tossup for the Royals. Remarkably, in a six way tie for 1oth most assists per game are four Royals. Jessica Castillo, Karen Li, Amber Beasley, and Ellen Fallis each average two assist per game. Now this could mean that the Royals are finding their playmakers from around the court. But Beasley and Li have some of the higher turnover ratios in the PACWEST, scoring 3.5 and 3.0 turnovers per game, respectively. Perhaps finding a go-to playmaker is something the team will be working on during the winter break. Or maybe it’s working for head coach Steve Beauchamp, and that sort of transition passing is what he wants. Either way, the team will have to clean it up if they want to repeat. Interestingly enough, Rachel Beauchamp and Nanaya Miki have the first and second best shooting percentages in the league. Perhaps the answer isn’t defence, but just to get the ball up more often than the other team? I’m not the head coach, so I can’t answer that one. But I can say, while not perfect, the Royals looked strong. If they find a playmaker, the Royals have the potential to repeat. If they can’t? Well, that means the team will play a very interesting style that will be fun to watch for. WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL MEN'S VOLLEYBALL INSTITUTION CONF PTS INSTITUTION CONF PTS DOUGLAS 10-2 20 VIU 10-2 20 VIU 10-2 20 CAPILANO 10-2 20 UFV 75 14 UFV 6-6 12 CAPILANO 6-6 12 DOUGLAS 5-7 10 CBC 5-7 10 CAMOSUN 5-7 10 COTR 4-8 8 COTR 4-8 8 CAMOSUN 0-12 o CBC 2-10 4 In it to win it > Royals men’s basketball poised to go the distance Davie Wong Sports Editor fter some massive offseason overhauls, the Royals men’s basketball team have made quite the name for themselves. Ranked seventh nationally by the CCAA, the Royals have gone from a fringe team to one of the best in the west. While it is still early to be praising the team, it’s hard not ul x | iL w oS a ‘3 oO w x o 5 ° a & > o £ QO = a to love the style of basketball that the Royals are playing. Tied for second in the PACWEST with a record of 4-2 headed into the winter break, the Royals have really established themselves a powerhouse team. In particular, a defensive powerhouse. Coach Joe Enevoldson has his team playing a defence-first kind of game with a power transition offence that sees his team succeed on both sides of the court. So far, the team’s biggest game has been against CBC, where they won 84-62. However, as a bottom team, it’s not the team’s most impressive win. That would be their 97-89 win over the Langara Falcons in their home opener. Their hardest loss came to the VIU Mariners, 89-77. As the Mariners are the go-to team to beat, it stung that the Royals weren't able to do so. However, it was a humbling loss that the team can learn from. Overall, the Royals have a fantastic all-around team on the court. Offensively, the Royals are up there with some of the best in the league. Grant Campbell’s 17.3 points per game has him ranked fourth in that category. Noah DeRappard-Yuswack has 16.2 points per game, sixth best in the PACWEST. American international Kameron Johnson has 15.8 points per game which is 8th best in the PACWEST. The Royals are the only team to have three players in the top 10 of points per game. Though the offensive mantle still belongs to Usama Zaid of the VIU Mariners, the Royals do other things just a little better. The arrival of Kameron Johnson has seen Grant Campbell step into the role of a scorer rather than a playmaker. Johnson makes the play, Campbell finishes. At the moment, Johnson averages 4.5 assists per game, third best in the PACWEST. But where the Royals have really found their success this year is off the glass. Noah DeRappard- Yuswack averages 12.5 rebounds per game, the PACWEST’s highest. That means that he averages a double-double every game. Reese Morris has also been a defensive monster for the Royals. Averaging 9.6 rebounds per game (third best in the PACWEST), and 1.8 blocks per game (PACWEST best}, Morris is a keystone in the Royals defensive game. With Kameron Johnson averaging 6.8 rebounds per game, and Grant Campbell averaging 6.2, the Royals are the only team with nearly their entire starting lineup in the top 15 rebounders. That says a lot about the style of basketball the Royals play. Looking at the numbers, the Royals have the best all-around team in the PACWEST. It’s just about transitioning that to beat VIU. Look for the men to put work in over the break to come back even harder. With this lineup, it’s hard to imagine anyone but the Royals in the finals against VIU right now. Knock on wood.