By: Maggie Tifft, Assistant Editor
The Canisius women’s basketball team has rebranded themselves for the upcoming season, emphasizing their “blue collar team with gold standards.”
The Lady Griffs have just three returning players from last season. With many new faces, Head Coach Tiffany Swoffard had to help the team find a new identity. “We’re going to be gritty and embrace hard work. We call ourselves the ducks because they paddle really hard under the surface, but they're calm and composed above water,” says Swofford when asked about this year’s team mantra. “We talk a lot about our Cs, and so when we address building championship behaviors, we do it with an intentional focus on the Cs,” continued Coach Swofford.
The team’s emphasis on the three Cs – community, communication, connection – encapsulates the image of this team, and helps players focus on how to achieve a successful season. “If we can excel in those every day, the end result will be positive for us,” says coach Swofford.
Creating team chemistry among so many new people means a major focus is trust. With players owning their respective roles to the best of their abilities, there are opportunities for everyone to see success on the court. Coach Swofford mentioned that, “We intentionally recruited this team so that we're putting five players on to score at a time, and so my guess is that we could potentially have a different leading score every night,” highlighting just how much depth this year’s team has.
The team’s season opener is on the road against Pittsburgh, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m.
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