Caper women’s basketball all-decade team includes Keough, Brown

Winning three Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles (2010, 2011, 2017), along with a U Sports bronze medal (2011), are highlights of the past decade for the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers women’s basketball program.

December 31, 2020

Caper women's basketball all-decade team includes Keough, Keane

Winning three Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles (2010, 2011, 2017), along with a U Sports bronze medal (2011), are highlights of the past decade for the Cape Breton University (CBU) Capers women's basketball program.

Several stellar student-athletes – both on and off the court – including some with deep Cape Breton roots, have helped key the ongoing success of the perennial contenders, under the leadership of head coach Fabian McKenzie and assistant coach Doug Connors.

In a recent Zoom conversation – as part of the Caper Athletics All-Decade Team Series – that veteran duo unveiled the program's squad. Watch Here!!

"We batted it back and forth, and then I put the final 11 forward based on –basically – who won awards and who did that part, but there were a lot of fine lines, as far as making those final picks," McKenzie said of the selection process.

Connors added they weighed – back and forth – "individual accolades" versus "great team success and what the team accomplished," in finalizing their choices.

"For us, it has never really been about individual stats – it is about program success – so it is cutting hairs when you come down to trying to figure out the all-decade 10," he said.

A couple of former Capers who made the talent-laden roster – garnering spots on the first team – are Colleen Keane and Alison Keough.

"Every year that she played here, if our team was a body, she was the heart – there was no other way to put it for me," McKenzie said of Keane.

Describing her as "incredibly tough," he added the Scarborough, Ontario native was a "big game player."

"I don't know of anybody that has logged more minutes [for us]," Connors said, calling Keane the "ultimate utility knife," when it came to her versatility on the court.

As for Keough – a U Sports rookie of the year, AUS MVP and first-team All-Canadian – the coaches agreed her legacy is about much more than the second-to-none statistics she posted over her five-year varsity career.

"You could talk about her forever because of how good she was," McKenzie said of the Marion Bridge native.

He added Keough is a "way better person than she is a basketball player."

"And she was the best basketball player this Island has ever seen," McKenzie said.

Over his 22 seasons leading the Capers, including the past decade, McKenzie said "we have had some great players."

"And, probably the best thing for me is how much they invest when they get here – they invest so much …" he added.

The Caper women's basketball all-decade team line-up includes:

First team:

Hannah Brown – North Sydney, Nova Scotia

Kari Everett – Stilesville, New Brunswick

Colleen Keane – Scarborough, Ontario

Alison Keough – Marion Bridge, Nova Scotia

Jahlica Kirnon – Toronto, Ontario