Megan Ahlstrom paces Huskies
Guard steps out of understudy role and into limelight
A year as understudy behind Laura Dally is paying dividends for Megan Ahlstrom.
Ahlstrom has been everything — and more — that was expected when she first joined the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team last season. The 5-foot-10 guard from Calgary Centennial is a former member of Team Alberta who was named Miss Basketball Alberta in 2015.
“She’s a special individual,” says U of S head coach Lisa Thomaidis, whose top-seeded Huskies play host to the Fraser Valley Cascades in a best-of-three Canada West women’s basketball quarter-final series on Thursday, Friday and, if necessary, Saturday at the PAC.
“She has an amazing work ethic. She came in last year, a highly touted recruit who passed up NCAA Division I to come here, and really embraced the role of learning behind Laura Dally. She absolutely took everything in that year playing with Laura and she has parlayed that into filling in her shoes.” They were big shoes. Dally averaged 17.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game last season for the Huskies.
She was named Canada West’s outstanding player of the year, leading her team to its first Canadian Interuniversity Sport (now U Sport) national women’s basketball championship.
“I envy Laura,” said Ahlstrom. “She was definitely my role model last season. At times, it was definitely frustrating but that was definitely the best opportunity I could have ever had, to play behind her and guard her every day in practice. It definitely helped me out this year.”
Ahlstrom started 18 of 20 games this season, averaging 11.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 25.2 minutes per game. She’s made 44.4 per cent of her shots from the floor, hitting 33.3 per cent of her threepoint attempts, and 89.5 per cent of her free throw tries. She has 96 rebounds, 17 assists, 19 steals and six blocks.
Last season, she played in 17 games, averaging 2.9 points per game and 11.3 minutes. She sank 32.4 per cent of her field-goal attempts, 15.4 per cent from threepoint range, and hit 75 per cent of her free throws.
After a slow start this season due to a pre-season concussion, Ahlstrom has stepped up her play since Christmas, consistently scoring in double-digits despite dealing with a foot injury that has her playing through pain.
“She just has a lot of weapons now,” Thomaidis says.
“She’s shooting the three. She’s very dangerous off the dribble. She can get to the rim. She’s a difference-maker at both ends. She really rebounds the ball and she steps in and takes charge.
“At the other end, she really wants to score. It’s been fun watching her come along and develop into the player she is now and we have a really bright future with her.
“The other piece is the leadership part. Having lost so many fifth-year (players) from last year’s team, she’s someone who played a role last year and got to see what a national championship team operates like. She’s done a good job of bringing that attitude forward and help bring along the young ones (who are having) their first exposure.”
Fraser Valley, which was 12-8 during the regular season, knocked off the Calgary Dinos 2-1 in their best-of-three play-in series.
Saskatchewan was 15-5 during the regular season.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s that surprising,” Ahlstrom says of the reigning national champion Huskies, who had to re-load after the loss of five players from last season.
“A lot of other people doubted us, but we never doubted ourselves. We came off a slow start, but now we know our own potential, and that’s the way we’re playing every day through our practices and our games.”
Ahlstrom passed up an opportunity to play at home for the University of Calgary Dinos and a Division One scholarship with NCAA’s Boise State.
She has no regrets.
“A lot of people criticized my decision, but after last year, I knew this is the best place I could be and it was definitely the best decision, so I’m really happy with that,” she says.
You can’t beat winning a national title in her rookie year.
“No kidding,” Ahlstrom says with a smile.