Tate Factor on Full Display as Cousins Lift Lancers and Saints

Powerplay Sports
5 minutes ago
2 min read

The Windsor Lancers women’s basketball team is back in the U Sports Top 10 this week, at #9, after an impressive weekend sweep of Carleton and Ottawa. Windsor opened by knocking off the 7th-ranked Carleton Ravens on Friday, then closed the homestand and first semester by taking care of business Saturday against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

The Lancers, 9-2 and 2nd in the OUA West, were led by third-year guard Leah Tate, who delivered a monster 36-point performance against Carleton before adding 21 more against Ottawa.

“Feels really good. I feel like all our hard work has been paying off,” Tate told Powerplay Sports. “We have a lot of new additions this year and I feel like we’re really working well together.”

Tate has shown consistent growth throughout her career, improving her scoring by three points per game from her first to second season. This year, she’s taken another jump, averaging 13.6 points per game — nearly four more than a year ago.

“I’ve been working really hard, even just getting my confidence up and really working on my mental has really helped me a lot, and obviously my teammates — their support is amazing,” she said.

Across Town At St. Clair College

Her cousin Mya Tate is putting together a strong rookie campaign of her own. The St. Joe’s graduate hit a game-winning buzzer-beater Saturday night against Humber, last season’s OCAA silver medalists. St. Clair won the game 79-77 to end the first semester 5-3 and winners of four of their last five games.

“When it went in I was very, not just happy for myself for hitting it, but happy for my team for getting the win,” Mya said. "Us coming together. It's just very exciting because they (Humber) are a very good team."

Mya is averaging 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for the Saints. The cousins trained together growing up and still talk regularly, each keeping an eye on the other’s success.

“The fact that we can, even at different schools but in our hometown, produce and do good things as a team — it’s very exciting,” Mya said. “I’m very proud of her. I think it just shows the amount of work we put in over the years. It’s just showing. I think we feed off each other because our games are kind of similar.”

Being two years older, Leah offers her younger cousin advice but says Mya is already proving she belongs as a first-year.

“She’s doing really good,” Leah said. “It’s nice that we both get to shine in our own ways in our hometown.”