Alessandra Armour (alarmour@ursinus.edu)
With the fall semester coming to a close, the Ursinus Men’s and Women’s basketball teams reflect on how their season has gone thus far, and how they can improve for the future.
The Women’s team, with a record of 0-4, recognizes that there is work to be done in order to improve for the rest of the season. Coach Bobbi Morgan admits that “this is a big challenge. We have nine players on our roster who have never played college basketball in the freshman and sophomore classes, three juniors who played very limited minutes as first years and one senior who played a lot of minutes.” It is clear that the team is putting in the work necessary. Kelly Grant, a sophomore guard on the team believes, “with the amount of dedication we have from every girl on our team,” they will still be able to win in the upcoming games.
“It is going to take time for us to mesh together and to learn what it takes to really compete at the college level, but I love the work ethic,” Morgan states. At this point in the season, the Bears’ goal is to continue to work hard, compete as a team, and fit all “the pieces” together. They’re hopeful that they will get a win on their record against colleges like Haverford, McDaniel, Cabrini, and Alvernia University in the near future.
As for the Men’s team, they have had a largely successful season so far. Coach Kevin Small says that he is “thrilled to have found our way to a couple road wins and a 3-1 start. But we are well aware that our level of execution has to improve.” This is reflected by three close wins and one extremely close loss against TCNJ, all with margins no greater than 9 points. Against Rosemont College, the team won 78-70. They beat Immaculata University by 3 points, and Franklin & Marshall by just 2. Though there have been some close calls, senior guard Ryan Hughes feels that the season is going well so far. “We are a young team, we make mistakes, but they are correctable and everyone on this team is doing their best including our coaches to make ourselves and the team better.” Each and every day we are “making one another a better player.”
Both the Men’s and Women’s teams say that work needs to be done, but for now, what matters to them is enjoying the experience of competing as a team, especially since COVID-19 prevented them from doing so for so long. With many games on the upcoming schedule, both teams are hopeful for some Beary big wins!
