orts 8 Small rookie is producing big results The first-year guard is impressing her coach as she continues her all-star ways from high school By CARA MCKENNA might mistake Denise Busayong for a girl on her way to cheerleading practice. Not only does the five-foot- five athlete shine with a positive atti- tude and contagious energy, but she doesn’t have a hair out of place. But don’t let this guard fool you with her friendly demeanor and polished appearance. On the basketball court she will take you down. “She’s got a lot of strengths,” said her coach, Mike Ev- ans. “She’s extremely energetic, positive, fast, [and] she’s a DENISEBUSAYONG 800d scorer. She Rookie Falcons works really guard hard.” Busayong —ad- mits being a rook- ie in a college league can be challeng- ing, but Evans said she has proven herself as a star on the team despite her inexperience. In fact, she was named conference player of the week in December. “She’s playing against kids that are three and four years older than her ev- ery night,” said Evans. “She’s a better player than I thought she was when I watched her in high school.” Before playing with the Falcons, Bu- sayong was awarded as a Richmond League All-Star as well as being a ma- jor player on her previous team, the Richmond Colts. “Everyone’s a lot better [in the col- lege league],” Busayong said. But she uses her small size to her advantage, dodging her competitors with swift grace. Clearly this human kinetics student stands out on the court for reasons other than her bright Falcons-orange shoelaces. Fittingly, her studies are helping improve her basketball skills even further. “Tm taking Active Health so we ac- tually have to go for runs and stuff,” said Busayong. The course examines the role of physical fitness on day-to- day life. “That helps keep me fit [outside of] practice.” Off the court, she helps out in the Langara sports department and is tak- ing courses to help her improve her basketball skills. I: it wasn’t for her Falcons jersey, you z z F i LEV JACKSON photo From top to bottom: Hailey Hebron, Brody Greig and Jitinder Lohcham face off against the Capilano University Blues Friday, January 27 at Langara College. Falcons split games at home The men and women endure different fates in weekend games By LEV JACKSON angara’s men’s basketball team won both their home games last weekend while the women fell short in both of theirs. Before a packed crowd both teams came out focused and ready. The two teams squared off against the Capilano University Blues Friday night. For the men’s team the game could not have gone any better as our Falcons dismantled the Blues 94-65. Head coach Jake McCallum credited the victory to his team’s relentless de- fense. “T thought they played very well de- fensively, which was what we were fo- cusing on,” McCallum said after the game. “We really limited them, worked hard, rebounded well, forced them to do things they didn’t want to do.” Gurjote Jhaj and Jeff Chu led the way for the Falcons, both scoring a team high 21 points. Point guard Brody Greig also had a solid game, netting seven points and a team high 11 assists. On the defensive end of the court, Devin McMurtry hustled hard to lead the team in rebounds. The team continued their winning ways Saturday defeating the Quest Uni- versity Kermodes 99-81. This rein- forced coach McCallum’s statement that, “If we want to play defense, we can.” The women’s team kicked things off Friday with a spirited effort falling to the Blues 83-63. The Falcons kept things competitive, trailing only three points at the half. Despite the loss, head coach Mike Evans was happy with his team’s per- formance against the league’s third- placed team. “Tliked everything about the way we played except one aspect: we got beat by one player,” Evans said of Capilano’s Jenna Ralston. “In ten years in this league I have never seen a kid hit that many threes.” The five-foot-10 power forward scored 42 points, more than half her team’s total. She shot 10 for 15 on three-pointers and logged over 38 minutes for the Blues. Falcons’ veteran Carling Muir had a team high of 17 points. Rhea Silvestri added 13 points and 7 assists, while Hailey Hebron played a team high 38 minutes and netted 14 points. The women lost Saturday’s game against Quest University 39-48. Coaches challenge players to improve in new year Both basketball teams are looking to work towards old goals after a pair of uneven starts in 2012 By CARLY RHIANNA SMITH pportunities abound for new years resolutions and the Falcons’ coaches plan to focus on challeng- ing their players to improve after a rough start to the term. “TThis year’s practices] have been a little tough ... you have your ups and your downs,” said Jake McCallum, coach of the men’s basketball team. “We're still growing and getting to know each other. I think we’re continu- ing to get better, so that’s a positive,” he added. The men’s team is currently missing four injured play- ers. “It’s a tough path when you don’t have all the pieces you’d like,” said McCallum. The women’s team has faced in- jury and_ illness problems of its JAKE MCCALLUM own. Men’s basketball “We haven't had coach a lot of practices with all 10 [play- ers] on the floor,” said head coach Mike Evans. Evans also faces the challenge of having many rook- ie players on his team this year. He looks for the posi- tives in what could be a problem. “Tt has created a lot of opportunity for our younger players to play more than they MIKE EVANS normally would.” | Wemen’s basket- Both of the 0a! coach coaches are recy- cling New Year’s resolutions from the past. “(Our goals] haven’t changed since Christmas - one is to make provincials, and then make the nationals,” said Mc- Callum. “Right now our biggest focus is on trying to get better defensively.” “Our goals are the same every year: to play to our potential and hope we overachieve whatever our potential is,” Evans said. “But I don’t think we’ve quite done that yet.” Both coaches display optimism and believe in their teams despite the tough starts. “We’re still in control of our own des- tiny,” said Evans. When he was asked to describe his team in one word, McCallum said, “Growing would be a good one.” Friday Feb. 3: at Columbia Bible College Saturday Feb. 4: hosting Douglas College Thursday Feb. 9: at Kwantlen University Friday Feb. 17: hosting UNBC Source: Langara Athletics