Addy back with Badgers
Allison Addy made a welcome return to the Brock Badgers women’s basketball team last weekend.
Missing since the start of the regular season after suffering a broken wrist, the Governor Simcoe alumna started a pair of games last weekend against Toronto Metropolitan and the University of Toronto. She is back in action Friday at home against Algoma and Saturday at Guelph.
“It is nice to have her back. She gives us a little more depth and she has to work her way into game shape and get back her shooting form,” Brock head coach Mike Rao said. “I think when she does that we will be in a much better position.”
The third-year guard averaged 18.9 minutes of playing time, 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the Badgers last season and Rao is counting on her to contribution once again.
“I’m looking to get her into our rotation eight or nine deep, give everyone else a rest and see where we can go.”
How Addy plays defence will determine the opportunities presented to her just like every other member of the roster.
“Defensive effort is the first thing and it is all effort,” Rao said. “It doesn’t require a great amount of skill. You don’t have to be a great shooter or a great anything. You just have to work hard, go get the ball, move your feet, defend and be active on and off the ball. You have to be intelligent and help out everyone else.”
Addy, a 20-year-old concurrent education major, saw her season come to a grinding halt at the end of September. She went up for a rebound during practice, tripped and banged her wrist on the floor. She was in a cast for five weeks followed by a stint in a soft cast and she was cleared to play Dec. 6, just as the first half of the season came to an end.
It was a tough pill to swallow.
“I wasn’t crying because of the pain but I was just upset because I didn’t get to play all preseason and I knew that it was going to take awhile to get back to normal,” she said. “It threw me back to first year when I hurt my ankle.”
In her rookie season, she suffered a high ankle sprain the day before the home opener. That cost her the start of the season and COVID took care of the rest.
That first-year experience helped her get through the latest setback.
“It’s just patience. You have to be patient and everyone’s support off the court meant so much to me.”
The 5-foot-10 player is still hoping to take the next step in her development during her junior year.
“I want to make a difference on the court. I want to be a player who if they need me to go in and make a defensive stop I am able to do it, or score a basket when we need it, or facilitate.”
It was hard to watch instead of playing.
“Being off the court and watching, you just want to be aggressive. In the back of my mind even when I am tired on the court, I have to remember when I just wanted to be out there and put it all out there.”
Addy used one word to describe how she felt in her first weekend back in action.
“Gassed. I was definitely gassed that first game but it gets my feet underneath me and it’s just taking my time. The first two games didn’t go exactly how I planned — I haven’t scored a basket yet — but it’s trusting everything I have put into it and letting the game come to me.”
She is looking forward to the rest of the season.
“I want to be a defensive presence and be able to guard multiple positions. I want to be able to guard their best player and help us on the defensive end and make that translate into getting us more offensive possessions.”
