Virden’s Garcia, Pilots capture MCAC women’s basketball title

NIVERVILLE — Fiona Garcia defies logic.

Not just because she can hold her own at her size, but because she plays basketball completely unlike you’d expect an undersized guard to play.

The Virden product, who was named to the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference all-conference team, helped the Providence Pilots to a 69-58 victory over the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers in the league final on Sunday.

Listed at five-foot-two, Garcia not only recorded 15 points but added six rebounds, six steals and six assists.

“I’ll give a little inside (information), she’s only 4-11,” said Pilots forward Faith LaRocque, the league’s player of the year and championship MVP.

“She plays like she’s 5-11. She doesn’t care if you’re six-foot in front of her, she’s going to put up that shot because she believes she can make it.”

Garcia’s approach to what others would call a “mismatch” is simple.

“Heart over height,” she said. “Because if you can get your body on someone, it doesn’t matter how tall you are. I always have that ball-first mentality, just throw myself and see where I get to.”

Garcia grew up in a basketball family, but in a town where the sport is more of an afterthought.

She sought opportunities to develop with the Junior Bobcats program in Brandon in junior high, and played for the Westman Youth Basketball Association (WYBA) in high school.

“Matt McLeod really helped me become a better player, gave me a lot of opportunities to play,” she said. “Juan (Mosquera) was a big help as well.”

Garcia developed into a multi-level scorer and tenacious on-ball defender. In Virden, she regularly led the Golden Bears in scoring as they captured the Zone 9 title but lost in the first round of their AAA provincial qualifier in Garcia’s senior year.

Providence recruited her in 2024 as a perfect fit for their “System,” which features the entire team rolling through hockey-length shifts as the Pilots try to play as quickly and intensely as possible.

“I really enjoy it, especially as a fast guard and someone who likes to shoot from three (point line). It’s really beneficial for me and so much fun playing as a team,” Garcia said.

“It was hard being away from home, but these people became my family. It became easier coming back for my second year and I really enjoyed it. This basketball team means a lot to me.”

It showed on Sunday, as the Pilots put their perfect 8-0 record in MCAC play on the line.

Garcia’s line did plenty of damage just a few minutes in, opening up a double-digit lead as Providence led wire-to-wire.

Garcia had an off night shooting, going 2-for-18, but decided to fight her way to the rim and drew a bunch of fouls. She went a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line to keep her team ahead.

Garcia said she likely needs to transfer next year for academic reasons. She’s hoping to continue her hoops career somewhere, and the Pilots will certainly miss her. She made an immediate impact on rookie head coach Kendall Perpall in the fall.

“The first thing I saw was she’s very elusive, can move well with the ball, fake it, change directions on top of her shooting,” Perpall said.

“(Sunday), what I saw is she was the hungriest in the game. She might be the smallest but you can definitely tell she was the hungriest out there.

“She never gave up.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com