Basketball star from Sudbury follows her hoop dreams to Ottawa University

A prominent university basketball player with roots in Sudbury is moving on to a new team to pursue her education.

After four years with the Western University Mustangs, Ariane Saumure will be playing for the Gee-Gees at Ottawa University.

Saumure graduated from Western with a post-graduate degree in kinesiology and will pursue her Master's Education at Ottawa University.

She has long-term plans of becoming a doctor. After not getting into medical school, Saumure said she looked at other options and was drawn to Ottawa University.

She said a number of family members attended the university.

"My mom also played for the Gee-Gees in her rookie year so it’s nice to follow in her footsteps and play for a team she was once on," she said.

Saumure, who grew up in the Greater Sudbury community of Val Caron, discovered she had a passion for basketball in Grade 5.

"My mom is one in my family who played basketball and she kind of introduced me to the sport in that way," Saumure said.

The point guard earned two defensive player awards two years in a row. Saumure said she considers that one of her biggest achievements, in part due to her size.

After four years with the Western University Mustangs, Ariane Saumure will be playing for the Gee-Gees at Ottawa University. Saumure graduated from Western with a post-graduate degree in kinesiology and will pursue her Master's Education at Ottawa University. (Photo from westernmustangs.ca)

Standing at 5-feet-4 inches, she said she was always the shortest player on the team.

"To get that award is fulfilling … because it means you don’t have to be tall to do great things and you can showcase other skills to sort of make up for that height deficit," she said.

Saumure's coach at Western University, Nathan McKibbon, said her defensive skills were the catalyst to the team's success.

"She's a good on-ball defenders and one of the best on-ball defenders I’ve ever coached," McKibbon said.

"She's extremely quick, extremely well conditioned, very competitive and just gets after it."

He said being able to play basketball at an elite level is extremely difficult.

HARDEST SPORT TO GET A SPOT

"University basketball is the hardest sport to get a spot in at the post-secondary level," McKibbon said.

"It’s a high participation but low roster sport. To have the opportunity to play basketball means that you're one of the top one or two per cent of people playing at the highest level.

“So to get to university or even beyond a roster is really special, but to excel once you get here is even smaller percentage."

While the number of women participating in basketball is growing, McKibbon said more can be done to grow the sport.

"I would say basketball, specifically in the women's side, has been one of the best-kept secrets," he said.

"We're actually ranked fourth in the world for women's basketball. We have a high participation rate in women's basketball."

One way to do this, he said, is to raise awareness about women's' achievements in the sport.

"I don’t think as Canadians we fully appreciate how far women's basketball has come and how well regarded internationally we are," McKibbon said.

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Saumure said a goal of hers is to introduce more women and young girls to basketball. She said she plans on coaching one day as a way to give back to the community.

"If I could help out a few more women, a few more little girls to grow the sport, that would be amazing," she said.

Saumure will be continuing her studies in the fall and playing the sport she loves on a new team.

She said she also plans to reapply to medical school.