Women’s AUS champions eye sixth national medal at Université Laval

Cover Photo Credit: Bailey Young.

Fresh off an AUS championship run, the UNB REDS women’s basketball team has won the 29th conference championship in school history, and are the AUS champions for the first time in 27 years. 

The bench emptied, the nets came down, and almost three decades of waiting spilled onto the floor as the final buzzer against the UPEI Panthers sounded. The UNB REDS women’s basketball team is celebrating, but also recalibrating.

With Nationals (final 8) looming at Université Laval starting March 5, 2026, the women’s energy feels driven, and Head Coach Erin McAleenan says they won’t stop here. 

“We just need to keep focus on playing our best basketball. That was a big focus for last weekend at AUS. But we need to continue to take those steps forward at both ends of the floor on the national stage,” said McAleenan.

According to McAleenan, the victory wasn’t based on a single star or a single weekend. It was founded on collaboration.  

“Especially during this season, everyone on the team was willing to sacrifice the individual and take on any role,” she said. “We still have a significant advantage because of our depth as a team.”

Thanks to that depth, the team was able to weather injuries, adapt to matchups, and maintain consistency throughout the season. Early experiences, in part, shaped that identity.  

“Beating Queens at Queens in the fall was a huge win for us, especially without one of our starters, Katie Butts,” said McAleenan.

That response, the ability to reset, refocus and improve, carried them onwards in the regular season, where their goal was clear.

“While there is excitement over individual accolades, I think the bigger excitement for sure was the team being collectively focused on one thing, which was getting the AUS banner,” McAleenan said.

She admits the moment required balance, and staying grounded amongst everything exciting was important. 

“I do think personally, reminding myself to take a minute to be excited is crucial,” she said. “But at the same time, I had to immediately flip the switch in terms of getting focused to plan and prepare for Nationals. We knew we had everything that it took to be able to do it.”

Now, the focus shifts from being conference champions to being on the national stage. Beyond wins and losses, playing their best basketball and bringing home a medal for New Brunswick is high on their radar. 

“It is a huge honour,” McAleenan said on representing UNB on the national stage. “Our coaching staff is all from New Brunswick, so being able to represent the province on the national stage is very exciting. Specifically at Nationals, our focus is definitely to bring home a medal. UNB women’s basketball have won five national medals, so we are chasing the sixth.”

The last time UNB women’s basketball medaled at nationals was in the 70s, according to U-SPORTS records.

UNB players Clancy MacIntyre, AUS MVP and tournament allstar, Katie Butts, and tournament allstar Kylee Speedy, were quick to express their enthusiasm and dedication for Nationals. Although winning the AUS title was a historic accomplishment, all three stressed that the team is already planning for what lies ahead.

They discussed how they are proud to represent UNB and New Brunswick at the national level, but this accomplishment feeds rather than satisfies their motivation. When the competition heats up at Laval, they are determined to leave an unforgettable mark since, to them, the banner represents a milestone rather than a finish line.

Speedy adds that the team is excited, but making adjustments to play against a new set of teams:

“All year we were playing against the same people we have been playing for multiple years, so we were quite familiar with them and their styles of play. The teams out west are definitely stronger, taller, more athletic than what we are used to. So playing against different styles of play is something we have been preparing for.”

MacIntyre, Speedy, and Butts discussed what it means to be a female athlete at such high level basketball.

They highlighted that while recognition and opportunity in women’s sports have increased over time, more work needs to be done. 

In light of President Trump’s recent joke at the expense of the winning U.S. women’s hockey team at the 2026 Olympics, the UNB athletes discussed whether they have ever felt underestimated as athletes due to their sex. 

MacIntyre revealed that, growing up in a very male-dominated environment, she frequently felt at a disadvantage to the males she trained and competed with.

“I have learned from being on a women’s team, and growing up alongside brothers that also play at a high level, no matter what you are going to face criticism,” said Maclntyre. 

Butts added that she is, however, thankful for the response social media has shown regarding the President’s joke in the U.S. locker room. 

“It felt really nice to see everyone posting about how what was said and what happened was wrong and how we can support each other as female athletes moving forward,” said Butts. 

Their perspective underscored not just the achievement of a championship, but the broader journey of perseverance and representation in women’s sports.