Hamilton, ON- Emily Frankovic could always score. She did so with Villanova College and with her CYBL and Kia Nurse Elite teams. She’s done so in her first season with the McMaster Marauders. 

Frankovic did so against the Toronto Metropolitan (TMU) Bold on Nov. 22 by driving to the rim and finishing with 11 points in a 71-68 defeat. The wing from Thornhill is averaging 11.8 points on 41.3 shooting. She’s shot 30 per cent from deep this season. 

“She can get up in the air and score. She can get to the rim and score. She can put back rebounds and score,” Marauders head coach Theresa Burns said. “She can score in a lot of different ways.” 

However, at McMaster, it’s about everything around the scoring – the pace and timing. The poise and confidence. It’s about everyone around her as well. 

Burns sees her learning all the time. In the Dalhousie tournament back in October, Burns thought of how she learned about all the different actions in the games. She’s learning about when to go up and block shots – to stop her check first. She kept scoring – a career-high 29 points against Dalhousie on Oct. 15.

Frankovic soon learned about the speed of the university game – and the decision making that requires. She knew how when she drives to the rim, it’s a different speed than her high school days. Different defenders as well. 

She knows about the importance of poise. It’s something she’s been working on. “I think that just comes with experience and practising and getting reps,” Frankovic said. 

Burns called it a trainable skill. The head coach notices on a long rebound, Frankovic will leap up and snatch the ball. Then she’ll springboard herself right back into the air again for a shot. 

“Just get your feet under you,” Burns tells her. “Just make it to the floor and get balance.” The coaches are working with her to be balanced with every shot. Sometimes, it doesn’t take that long. Sometimes, only a microsecond, according to Burns. 

Maybe there’s that speed aspect again. With poise comes timing and patience. When Burns watches her, she sees Frankovic rush at times to get her shot off. “I think she feels like, ‘I’ve got to get it off so it’s quick’,” she said. 

Let’s take a second to look back and reflect. Perhaps that will help. Burns and the coaches did so in the hallway after the game. 

“We forget sometimes she’s a rookie,” Burns recalled. “We’re putting her in situations and putting a lot of weight on her shoulders in situations. I think she’s responding really well.” 

Maybe what will really help with perspective is knowing who’s around her. Maybe on her past teams, she was relied on to get that shot off right away, Burns muses. On this team, she’s doesn’t need to. “There’s lot of people that can do that,” she added. 

Those teammates have helped her immensely already. Once Frankovic arrived at McMaster, she’s loved meeting so many new people. She describes herself as a very talkative person. She’s gotten to know her teammates by talking to them and being around them. 

That confidence that you see from her fearlessly driving to the rim and then putting up a rebound? Yes, that may be inside her already, but it also comes from her teammates. They always high five each other, always tell each other to pick their heads up. 

“I just feel all the confidence behind me with my teammates fully,” Frankovic noted. “They have confidence in me and I do the same with them.” 

When she misses a shot or is working on being more poised, she knows they will be there to support her. “All of us just have each other’s backs all the time,” she said. 

Perhaps she can pick up cues from each of them on how to be more poised? Perhaps she has already. 

Frankovic has learned so much from each of the veterans every day. She learned from how Amy Stinson carries herself and the shots she takes. She learned from Jenna Button’s leadership – her pregame and postgame talks. 

Maybe this is the path to growing individually. The path to taking that that extra half-second to gather before rising for a shot. 

Perhaps it takes that second to look around and see everyone around her. The veterans, the coaches, the fellow rookies and everyone in between. Perhaps Frankovic already knows that. 

Let’s go inside the locker room after the TMU game. Burns talked to them about how they have different players stepping up after every game this season.

Frankovic thought was awesome to see everyone sharing the ball and having confidence in one another.

“This is a team sport and we’re a family,” she said. “It’s not all on one person ever.” 

Bourget steps up all around

So, who was the standout player for McMaster in this game? Fourth-year guard Delaney Bourget it turns out. The one with a coach’s brain, according to Stinson. 

The Sudbury native had 11 points, two assists and three rebounds. Bourget hit some crucial shots and threes down the stretch to keep McMaster close until the end. “Crazy shots,” Frankovic called it. She was also heard by everyone. 

“She was really leading the charge vocally,” Burns noted. Bourget called out the different defenses and switches and things that needed to happen. She was helping all her teammates.  Much like a coach would. 

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics