"Hi Coach. I am just calling to let you know I don’t have my passport yet and am waiting for my US visa. So… I may be late for training camp." WHAT A WAY TO START YOUR SECOND YEAR!  

My passport arrived sooner than I had expected and I missed just one day of training camp. 

Our team worked really hard and we looked so good when practicing. Scrimmages began to start and then the pre-season got underway. 

We faced unranked teams early in the pre-season and won by large margins. 

As the pre-season continued, we began to defeat teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally including some that won medals at Nationals the previous year.

After the pre-season, we were ranked 7th in the country - that was one of my favourite days as a Gaiter! We felt amazing! Everything we did, the hours we put in, being away from our families for so long, was all worth it.

But the real challenge was next - the start of the regular season in the conference. The RSEQ is one of the most challenging conferences in the country as you have to play each team four times throughout the season.

The previous season we missed out on the playoffs but, at the start of the 2019-20 season, we were ranked #7 in Canada. This meant we faced a lot of pressure as everyone was trying to defeat us and knock us out of the Top 10 so they could improve their own ranking. 

The winter semester finished and we were still ranked in the Top 10, topping out at #5 in the country.

Christmas break arrived which meant it was time to go home for a couple of days before returning to the court.

We arrived back in the gym on December 27th where we had two games at home against ranked teams. We did not play our best after the break and that dropped us to #10 in the country. This was not what we were hoping for because we put ourselves in a position where if we lost during the regular season, we may be out of the running for a wild card spot at Nationals.

With the second half of conference play in the books, I achieved my career-high on Senior Night with 38 points.

RSEQ awards were handed out after that game and I was named the Player of the Year/MVP in my second year. I would never have thought I could achieve that - I could not have been more proud of myself. My team was one of the best teams in the country, I was nominated for the U SPORTS Nan Copp Award for Player of the Year.

Despite my concerns about coming to Canada, everything was worth it. Crying when I left my house, family and friends, getting immersed in a new culture, making new friends, all of the extra hours in the gym - it was all worth it. 

Our season did not end as we had expected or hoped but I still went to Ottawa as a nominee for the U SPORTS Player of the Year. Plus, my friends on the men's basketball team won the RSEQ Championship!

I went to Ottawa with some of my teammates—Metcheline (the best defender I have ever seen), Jael,(the Rookie of the Year aka double-double) and, of course, my coach, Craig Norman. The men's team also went to Ottawa to compete at Nationals.

Ottawa was a blast and I was named a U SPORTS 1st Team All-Canadian which meant I was one of the Top 5 players in the country - crazy!

When we returned to Lennoxville, things were weird. I remember it as if it were yesterday - I had a midterm exam but hold on, schools and universities were going to close for two weeks - WHAT WAS GOING ON?

Everybody started to freak out. Roads between provinces were closing. All of my friends were heading home because we were scared of being stuck in Lennoxville, not knowing anything about COVID-19. The only thing we knew by then was that people were getting sick around the world and some were even dying…

A week passed and I started reading that borders were going to close, both here and in Argentina, and that schools were not going to open again... Final exams were scheduled for April. What should I do? Risk staying in Canada for the whole year or return home and risk not completing my exams?

After speaking with several of the university's administration, I was able to make the difficult decision to head home just one day before the borders closed in Argentina. When I arrived at the airport, my mom did not even say hi to me, she just sprayed sanitizer.

The Bishop's Athletic Banquet went virtual, announcing the awards on Instagram! I was named the MVP of the women's basketball team and the Bishop’s Female Athlete of the Year. Despite everything going on, it was at least a somewhat nice way to finish out the year.

Although I had to finish my classes online and I couldn't say a proper goodbye to all of my friends, my second year was probably the best year of all!

#GaiterNation | Be Unstoppable!