HOMETOWN HOOPSTER
Shand gives Huskies big edge in playoffs
Kyla Shand is a “big ” with big-time potential.
Standing six-foot-three, she automatically gives the University of Saskatchewan Huskies size. Her role with the Huskies has grown, too, in her second year.
Shand has entrenched herself as a go-to girl in the paint as she begins to fulfil a promising university basketball career in her hometown of Saskatoon.
“She’s really coming along,” U of S women’s basketball coach Lisa Thomaidis says of Shand, a Holy Cross Crusaders graduate.
“She’s going to be, and continues to be, a big part of our plans.”
Those plans include another potential trip to the U Sports national championship, where the Huskies claimed silver a year ago.
They started nicely this week, finishing a two-game quarter-final sweep of the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen Friday with a 102-56 victory. That victory sends them into next week’s conference semifinal.
(The Huskies men’s team held a 1-0 series lead heading into Friday night’s game against the Regina Cougars; that contest was still being played at press time.)
“She’s a big presence for a 6-3 (player) and she moves really, really well,” Thomaidis says of Shand. “She runs as well as any post in the country for her size. She puts a lot of pressure on opposing teams because of that and her fitness. And we’re putting a lot of pressure on her to continue to develop, because we see her as a big piece to the puzzle; being able to challenge for a national championship.
“I’m notoriously hard on bigs and I’ve been really hard on her but, again, it’s because she’s got a lot of potential. She’s grown a lot.”
Shand, a sophomore post player, has averaged 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game this season while shooting 53.5 per cent from the floor. Her totals are trending up.
Last season, Shand averaged four points and 2.4 rebounds per game and shot 43 per cent.
“Our team has been doing really well, so that’s awesome," Shand says. "We would have loved to end (the regular season) on a better note against Regina but, hopefully, we’ll get another shot at it. Redemption would be nice.”
Before redemption, there needs to be faith.
“My team’s put some faith in me, which is really nice and reassuring for me to know,” Shand says. “I guess it’s kind of reciprocated, because I like to put a lot of faith in them, too.
“The bar has been raised. It’s more of ‘we know what you’re capable of and we want to see that’ and it’s coming from a really good source. They want us to perform our best every weekend."
NCAA OPTIONS
Shand had plenty of options before deciding on the U of S, including a tempting offer to play NCAA Division 1 at Iowa State.
“We knew that, when we got her, it was big for us to have her for five years,” Thomaidis says. “We’re at a stage now where the majority of our players have passed up Division 1 offers to stay here. That says a lot about the play in Canada and Canada West.
“That’s the level of athlete that we need to be successful. Kudos to her. She’s highly intelligent. She stayed for the combination of academics and basketball.”
Shand admits it was a difficult choice.
“I knew that I had the best support system here and I didn’t want to leave that behind,” offers Shand, who did visit Iowa State.
“I knew that, if I came here, Lisa is amazing. She’s the coach of the national team. That’s where I want to hopefully get someday. There’s no coach better to train under than her."
There’s also a winning tradition with the Huskies program, adds Shand.
“It’s expected that we make it to the Canada West final and that we make it to nationals every year, because that’s where the bar is and that’s what we’ve risen to know," Shand says.
“It’s something special because it’s an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get.”
It’s an opportunity she couldn’t resist.
“I was left deciding between (Iowa State) and here. It was a tough decision but I think it was definitely the right one.”
Thomaidis couldn’t agree more.