Hamilton, ON- Seventy-seven days had passed since the McMaster Marauders women’s basketball team’s last game against the Brock Badgers – a 82-73 road loss on Nov. 25 – before they played them again. Marauders guard Deanna Mataseje saw all the difference in those 77 days.

Going into their rematch at the Burridge Gym on Feb. 10, Mataseje could sense how much they really wanted to win the game.

They came into it feeling really good. They came into it shooting well. They maintained a lead throughout the game. Then the Badgers made their run late in the fourth quarter to tie it.

Mataseje focused on staying calm and playing with her teammates as overtime came. Pretend like it’s the first quarter again, she told herself. Play our own basketball. Don’t let the pressure of overtime and Brock’s runs get the best of us.

Her teammate Amy Stinson could see from those around her the looks of a bit of panic…but also composure. It’s like we’re starting the first quarter and going in hot, she thought. Stay composed. Stay calm and we’ll be good.

The Marauders built back up their lead in overtime – and held onto it for good – for the 84-80 victory.

Within the Brock game, you could see their confidence. First-year guard Ashley Guerriero knows how basketball is a game of runs. So, when Brock made theirs at the end of regulation?

She tried to stay poised, confident and strong with the ball. She tried to execute the offence. Guerriero felt the trust head coach Theresa Burns had in her.

“A really big thing for me,” she noted. “Because it allows me to understand that like she trusts me. I can put my all on the floor but also I need to make sure I’m confident and strong in what I’m doing.”

Yes, Guerriero knew she needed to be confident in herself. She also knew that having those around her show their confidence in her boosted her own confidence even more. She finished with six points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal – playing the whole overtime.

As the game progressed, you could see something else though. Those weaknesses earlier in the season for instance. Look how much they’ve worked on them – and continue to do so.

Twenty-four days had passed since their last home game. A moment when those weaknesses truly came to light. The Marauders had an early lead against the Guelph Gryphons but squandered it. They lost the rebounding battle 53-40 but it was also about how they were out-rebounded.

Burns saw them take that performance to heart. They weren’t happy with how they played.

“We can’t lose that way,” Guerriero remembers them realizing. “That was not our best game…we needed to step up”

Since that day, they’ve committed to doing so. They’ve done so in practices and in games. They’ve won six matches in a row since then.

The players realized they needed to hone in on those details Burns had been telling them about. So, they did. Guerriero remembers them focusing in on all those little things in practice. “It was all the details that we needed to do,” she noted.

They worked on stopping their own check, according to Mataseje. That means keeping their check in front of them, according to Burns.

The head coach saw them realize how they needed to get in position for the rebound early. They needed to box out before the shot goes up – and carrying through with it all the way.

While they’re still not where they want to be, Burns sees them committing to it and getting better at it.

One day had passed since McMaster went on the road and beat the Waterloo Warriors 97-71 on Feb. 9. They were out-rebounded 47-29 – remember it’s still a work in progress – so what explains the final score?

Look at the shooting. The Marauders shot 15-for-26 from three. Five players finished with double-figure points. Four players made multiple threes.

Those numbers don’t just happen though. Burns and the coaches give the players the green light to fire away from three. If they’re in good positional space, in the flow of their offence, then catch to shoot, Burns tells them.

“When you pass up a shot, that’s not being unselfish,” she’ll tell them. “That’s being selfish because we’ve got to work hard for another 10 seconds to find an open shot.”

Burns thinks of so many of them who can shoot the ball comfortably and confidently: Stinson, Delaney Bourget, Jenna Button, Emily Frankovic, Sophia Urosevic…So, when they have that shot-first mentality…

“At this level, you’ve got to be prepared to be a scorer and when they’ve bought into that, it’s translated into some pretty good shooting games for us,” Burns added.

Mataseje notices everyone shooting with confidence. No hesitation. No second thoughts. Just catching and shooting. “When everything’s in rhythm, they’re falling for us every single time,” she noted.

Mataseje knows how hard it can be. She knows how easy it can be to get in her own head when shooting – especially when that first shot doesn’t go in. She can feel herself hesitating or not feeling the same on the next shot.

She also knows how there are so many possessions in a game. She remembers what her coaches have told her about how passing up the open shot. When they have those open shots, they’re firing away – doing so with confidence, not second-guessing themselves.

Mataseje also reflects on all those hours spent in practice, speeding up their shot to simulate games. When those open looks come around during a game, it’s automatic for them.

Let’s go deeper than the talk and the drills and actions in practice. There’s something else at the heart of their improvement.

Accountability. Mataseje knew they needed to hold each other accountable in practice. Yes, they hear the coaches talk to them about the commitment and details needed to get better…

She knew they needed to dig deep in practice to truly get better in games. To turn words into action. That means accountablity. If someone misses a box out during practice…

“If it happens once, fine,” Mataseje said. “But don’t let it happen again.”

All that digging deep could be felt during the Brock game as well. When the game got tighter and tighter and moment got bigger and bigger.

That’s when Mataseje truly saw her team’s growth culminate in those moments in the fourth quarter and overtime. They were calm and composed. They were playing their game.

In those moments, Mataseje and her teammates knew everyone was on the same page. They knew everyone was giving it their all in the fourth quarter and overtime – and throughout the game. She felt really reassured to see them all give that effort.

One hundred and thirty-six days had passed since their first preseason game on Sept. 27 against the Humber Hawks. Twenty-seven games had passed. After the Brock game was over, Mataseje felt something else: Pride.

The Ancaster native knows they’re a young team – with seven rookies. She thought of where they were at the start of the season to where they are now. She thought of how they’ve all grown so much since then.

Mataseje’s proud of her team.

Featured Image: Kevin Lassel/McMaster Athletics