The Huskies women’s basketball squad enjoying the scenic Phoenix landscape.

In what has become a Huskies basketball tradition, the men’s and women’s teams went south of the border last week to ring in the new year and warm up for the second half of the season.

On Dec. 28 the men’s squad flew to Palm Springs, Calif. to get back into game shape after almost a month off from regular-season play.

“We will practice a couple times a day and we have a couple scrimmages planned along with our weight training,” head coach Barry Rawlyk said before the trip.

During their stay the Huskies scrimmaged against basketball clubs from San Diego Christian College and California Baptist University.

“There is not a lot of downtime,” Rawlyk said. “The guys might get an afternoon by the pool, but for the most part they’re going to have to work pretty hard to maintain and upgrade their conditioning for the second half of the schedule.”

Huskies point guard Stephon Lamar is from San Diego, Calif. He travelled home for Christmas before taking the short drive to Palm Springs to meet up with the team.

Before flying home, Lamar said he was looking forward to returning to the warmer weather he grew up with.

“To see some sun and not walk around on snow slipping and falling on ice will be nice,” Lamar joked.

Lamar and the rest of the team hoped the trip would help bring the athletes together and build team chemistry both on and off the court.

“It’ll be good for us to get better as a team so we can come into the second half of the season on fire,” Lamar said.

Patrick Burns, a fifth-year Huskies player,  has gone on a Christmas break training trip each season he has been with the squad. He knows what to expect and says it’s a tough but rewarding experience for the whole team.

“There is definitely work we have to do down there and [Palm Springs is] definitely a good place for us to do it,” he said. “It’s good to spend some time with the guys and to get to know them a bit better. It’s a good all-around team experience.”

While the men’s team members were bouncing basketballs on the West Coast, the women’s club travelled to Phoenix on Dec. 27 for six days of training.

The women’s team went on their first Christmas-break trip last year, but already the players feel that the new environment can help them work on their skills and recharge their energy.

Third-year player Kabree Howard was with the team in Phoenix last year. She said the trip was a huge success and that this year’s team was excited to return.

Howard said the outdoor workouts in the blazing Arizona sun are an effective way to burn off extra holiday pounds.

“The first few practices you’re breathing pretty heavy,” Howard said, “but it’s nice also to get back at it and start sweating a little bit.”

The women’s squad scrimmaged against a few local post-secondary schools while in Phoenix. They also watched an Arizona State University Division 1 women’s basketball game, which was something Howard and the rest of the squad were very excited for.

“Last year we went to an NBA game, but we’re much more excited to watch a Div. 1 university team play,” Howard said a few days before flying to Arizona.

Second-year player and leading point producer for the Huskies women’s squad Dalyce Emmerson emphasized the trip’s difference from the regular season because the players don’t have to balance school and basketball at the same time.

“I think it will be a good opportunity for all of us to get to know each other better and not have to worry about doing homework on the road,” Emmerson said. “Just relax and hang out in the hot weather of Phoenix.”

The Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams returned to Saskatoon Jan. 1. They kick off the second half of their season Jan. 11 on the road against the University of Fraser Valley Cascades.

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Photo: Supplied