Windspeaker Sports Briefs - May 2013

Sisters lead Louisville

Thanks to a pair of Native American sisters, the Louisville Cardinals women’s basketball team recently had its share of supporters on both sides of the border. Shoni and Jude Schimmel, who grew up on Oregon’s Umatilla Indian Reservation, are members of the Cardinals’ squad that advanced all the way to the NCAA women’s championship match. But in the end the sisters and their teammates were defeated by the University of Connecticut Huskies 93-60 in the national final. The championship match was held April 8 in New Orleans.

The Huskies were the clear favourite in the championship contests. Heading into the 64-team national tournament, UConn was one of the four teams seeded first for its regional championships. As for the Huskies, they were ranked fifth in their regional tournament.

The sisters though will have another shot at a national title next season. Shoni, who is a junior this season, has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining. Jude, a sophomore this year, can play two more seasons with the Cardinals. The siblings were key members of the Louisville side this season. Shoni led the club in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game. Jude averaged 5.7 points per game but she was one of the team’s top passers, ending up with 107 assists on the season, behind her sister only who had 136 assists. The Cardinals ended up with an over-all record of 29-9 this season.

The Schimmels and the Cardinals became fan favourites, especially among Native hoops fans, because they pulled off several upsets during the NCAA tournament. Louisville started off with a predictable result, downing Middle Tennessee, ranked 12th, in its opening contest. The Cardinals then reeled off four upsets in a row to advance to the national final.

For starters, there was a 76-63 triumph over fourth-ranked Purdue. And then the team started creating its share of headlines after eking out an 82-81 triumph over top-ranked Baylor in a third-round match. Louisville kept on rolling by taking out second-ranked Tennessee 86-78 in its regional final, earning a spot in the Final Four in New Orleans. The Schimmels sparked their team to yet another upset, as Louisville defeated another Number 2 seed, the California Bears, 64-57 in its semi-final match.

Hall of famer

Canadian wheelchair basketball player Richard Peter, who retired after winning a gold medal at last year’s London Paralympics, has become a hall of famer. Peter, a member of British Columbia’s Cowichan Tribes, and the rest of his 2012 Paralympic champion teammates were among those inducted into the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Hall of Fame. The team was honoured on April 13 in Montreal, the site of this year’s Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League championships.

Peter, 40, announced his retirement this past September, after helping Canada defeat Australia 64-58 in the gold-medal match at the London Paralympics. Peter, who was a member of the national team since 1994, ended up winning four Paralympic medals during his career. He was on the Canadian teams that also won gold medals at the 2000 and 2004 games, which were staged in Australia and Greece, respectively. And in 2008 he helped Canada win the silver medal at the Beijing Paralympics in China.

Brothers win awards

Brothers Greg and Brad Leeb concluded their professional hockey careers with a bit of hardware. The Leebs, who are Cree, are from Red Deer, Alta. They both spent this season playing in England, with the Coventry Blaze, members of the Elite Ice Hockey League. They opted to play together in England this year—prior to that they were also teammates for four seasons in Germany—so they could also study at Coventry University.

The Leebs helped the Blaze to a third-place finish in their post-season run this season. Coventry defeated the Cardiff Wales 11-5 in the bronze-medal match. The brothers—Greg is 35 and Brad is 33—both announced their retirement from pro hockey at the conclusion of the season.

Both Leebs shone offensively for the Blaze this season. Greg finished second in team scoring with 56 points, including 17 goals, in 59 matches. Brad ended up third in team scoring with 50 points, including a team-high 24 goals, in 57 contests.

Greg Leeb ended up winning three team awards. He was selected as the Player of the Year, the Players’ Player of the Year as well as the Coach’s Player of the Year. Brad Leeb also ended up receiving an award, for having the best plus-minus rating with the Blaze.