As the season is set to begin, Saint Mary's tops AUS women's basketball coaches poll

HALIFAX, NS (Oct. 29, 2024) – The Atlantic University Sport women’s basketball head coaches have spoken.

And what they are saying is the two-time defending champion Saint Mary’s Huskies should be considered the favourite once again with the season set to begin Wednesday night. The Huskies picked up a remarkable seven of the eight first-place votes available in our annual coaches poll.

“It’s always nice to be recognized. It means we have some players who have had some success in the league I believe,” said Huskies coach, Scott Munro, who was named the 2023-24 AUS Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year. “We don’t put a whole lot of stock in (the coaches poll) as every year is a new year and every team is a new team. There is lots of work to de done.”

Munro’s work begins Wednesday night as his Huskies play in one of two games on the schedule that night when they host the Acadia Axewomen. The other game will see Dalhousie host STFX. Both contests will tip-off at 6 p.m. ADT.

When asked what he will be keeping his eye on early in the season, Munro spoke about effort.

“Hopefully, we will be a strong defensive team and very hard to play against most nights,” he said. “We have some people ready to step into some different roles this season as well as some newcomers ready to compete as well. It’s going to be a very competitive league, and our goal is to be playing our best basketball by March.”

UPEI, who earned the final first-place vote, is ranked second in the poll with 33 points. Behind them are: STFX and Acadia both with 25 points, CBU with 20, UNB with 14, Memorial with 7 and Dalhousie with 2.

UPEI will begin their season on Friday against Memorial. The two remaining teams – UNB and Cape Breton – will also meet on Friday night. Both games are set to begin at 6 p.m.

The Huskies will have a bit of a different look this season, as veterans Alaina McMillan and Courtney Donaldson have both moved on. Both played huge roles in the two AUS titles SMU earned the past two seasons, and replacing them will be hard.

Munro agreed, but said the shining example left behind by the hard-working duo will benefit the team for years to come.

“It’s always hard to replace players of Alaina and Courtney's ability and character, but they have helped to set a standard for work ethic and competitiveness during their careers that that this group will hopefully try and maintain,” he stated.

Donaldson and McMillan are not the only big names that have moved on this season. Also gone, and missed by their teams, are 2023-24 First Team All-Stars Lizzy Iseyemi (Acadia), Jayda Veinot (UNB) and Alana Short (Memorial). Only CBU’s Kiyara Letlow remains from that group.

The season culminates with the 2025 AUS Women’s Basketball Championship at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax in late February.