At this time last year, the Georgian Grizzlies women’s basketball teams was struggling with just two wins and a shrinking bench thanks to a rash of injuries.
A month later, following more devastating injuries that left the team with just five healthy players on the roster, the Grizzlies would forfeit the remainder of the season.
“Last year was a tough, tough season. Very mentally draining, physically draining, emotionally draining and all of it,” team captain and Barrie native Kyanna Thompson told BarrieToday. “We ended up folding in February because we weren’t allowed to continue with the numbers we had and just how prone we were to injury that season.”
It was a low of lows.
It was adversity that Thompson and her teammates say not only has made them stronger, but is central to the success they have enjoyed this season in their return to the court.
As they head into the second half of the season, Georgian sits second overall in the East Division of the 2023-24 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) standings with an impressive 7-1 record.
Not only have they passed the previous school record high of six wins in a season, but the Grizzlies are also ranked fifth overall in the province, the first time a Georgian College women’s basketball team has been ranked in school history.
“I really don’t wish what we went through on anybody,” said Georgian coach Brian Hutton, who is in his second season with the team. “There were definitely some low points for myself in a 20-year coaching career. For our athletes as athletes, just getting to the next day or trying to see the light at the end of the tunnel was very, very difficult — and then to comeback so quickly has just been absolutely outstanding.
“It’s a huge, huge testament to our athletes, to our leadership and captain in Kyanna believing in the process and believing we’re trying to build something special. It’s been outstanding that way," he added.
But for Hutton, Thompson and the Grizzlies, the work has only begun.
“We’re looking to build and do some really special things, but to be able to do things that have never been done before with Georgian women’s basketball," added the head coach. "I want our athletes to get all the accolades and all the spotlight because it’s all them. I can be a leader and I can be a head coach as much as I want, but if you don’t have your captain Kyanna buy in and believe in you and our other captains to buy in and believe in you and our other athletes to buy in and trust the process then we really have nothing."
Hutton says it's been a "roller-coaster of emotion" these past several months.
"Twelve months ago, we were sitting here with two wins on the entire year, experiencing devastating injuries and things like that," he said. "I’m so proud of our athletes and I want them to get all the flowers that they deserve, for sure.”
Thompson believes Hutton also deserves a lot of the credit for turning around the team.
She was at Brock University studying kinesiology for her first two years of college ball before deciding to transfer to Georgian. Then COVID hit, which led to the exodus of most of the Georgian’s players and coach.
“There was just five us practising here and there,” said Thompson, a six-foot forward who transferred into the interior design and architecture program at Georgian College.
Both Thompson and fellow Barrie native and team leader Kory Hook were instrumental in getting Hutton hired late last spring.
After the team forfeited, Hutton went to work recruiting, bringing in key players including Ami May from Raymond, Alta., and Madison Wright from Vaughan.
“Coach Hutton is working his tail off to get some good recruits and always putting us on in position where we can be successful and challenging us to be our best on and off the court,” said Thompson. “That’s the thing — culture is a huge for us. If you’re a good person, you’ll play for us. If you say please and thank you and have manners, you’ll play for us. Culture is huge for us and that just helps with dynamic in the locker room, dynamic on the floor.
“We don’t want gossip — we don’t want anything like that. Building a program and a foundation off of culture and character, which speaks a lot of volume. You can be the best player in the country, but if you don’t have character, if you don’t fit our culture, you won’t be part of it," she added.
Georgian’s only loss this season was at home to top-ranked and undefeated Algonquin College. The 67-54 loss to the traditional powerhouse Wolves in late November has only made Thompson and her teammates are looking forward to Feb. 2 when the two teams take to the floor again at Algonquin in Ottawa.
“They’re the team to beat and have been for a while,” said Thompson. “If we lose a game to Algonquin, we’ll come back and beat them at their house. Who knows, it could go either way. It just depends on what team shows up that night.
“We've got to keep working and not have a night off. We've got to put in the work on and off the court," she added.
As for what makes Georgian a formidable team on the court, Thompson says it all starts on the defensive end, getting a defensive stop and then running it up the court quickly.
“We’re very much a transition team, so we can push the ball up the court fast,” she said.
Thompson and her teammates kick off the unofficial second half of the season Wednesday, Jan. 10 on the road at George Brown College's Casa Loma campus in Toronto.
“The best part is we actually have shooters and people willing to take it the hoop," she said. "We have an all-around skill-wise team where if we need to shoot the ball, we got shooters we can rely on. If we need someone to take it to the hoop, we got people that can do that as well.
“We’re very much a universal team in that sense.”
Hutton says the Grizzlies’ philosophy is that 70 per cent of their offence should come from their defence.
“If you have a defensive presence, it’s an opportunity for athletes to really get involved and it helps enhance your culture,” he said. “On the defensive side of the basketball, it’s just heart, desire to want to be a factor defensively, and it really takes athleticism and just work ethic, so you can have that presence on the back end defensively and know that you are going to make plays that contribute to the outcome of the game.
“By having that mentality, it’s just a fun way to play," he added. "It’s fun to get up and pressure the basketball, it’s fun to cause turnovers and create chaos and then being able to secure it and transition down the other end.”
The start to the season has been exciting for the team, especially knowing all they have been through to get here. The goal is to push through the playoffs and land one of two spots into the national championship.
“It’s been a process over the last three seasons, but I think we’re finally getting somewhere which is exciting,” said Thompson.
Hutton says he couldn’t be prouder of the way the team has battled through adversity of last season — to see the “fruits” of their labour.
“To come back 12 months later and be where we’re at, we’re just as good as anyone,” said the coach. “We have just as good as shot anyone, but it’s not a one-hit wonder. We bring back a lot of players and we’re after some really talented recruits, so we’re going to be around for a while and hopefully make some noise.
“But it’s all about our athletes. These young student athletes deserve a ton of attention, a ton of credit for sure," Hutton added.
Lessons learned that they could carry with them well after basketball.
“It took a lot out of us, but we all chose to keep pushing through when the times got tough,” said Thompson. “We got through adversity and built a lot of tough skin. Pushing through meant a lot to each and every one of us.
“We stayed together as a team and have created this bond and have this family out of it.”
The Grizzlies' next home game is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 12 at 6 p.m. versus Centennial at the Michele McConney Court at the Barrie campus. The Colts sit seventh in the eight-team Eastern Conference with a 1-6 record.
