McLeod aims for big year with Bobcats

Amaya McLeod hopes last season was the step back she needs to leap two steps forward in 2026-27.

The Brandon University Bobcats import is back for her final year of Canada West women’s basketball, after two significantly different campaigns.

“I’m pretty excited. This is going to be a really good year,” McLeod said ahead of today’s home pre-season game against the Algoma Thunderbirds, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

“I think (head coach) Ilarion (Bonhomme) is going to do a really good job offensively and defensively to get us to where we need to be.”

Bonhomme recruited McLeod late in the summer of 2024 out of Reno, Nev. The Stanislaus State College guard quickly showcased her potential to take over games, netting 50 points in her first two regular-season contests.

She missed her next 18 shots over two games, then continued the up-and-down year with a few massive offensive performances as Brandon went 2-18. She finished the season averaging 12.3 points per game, shooting 30 per cent from three-point range.

Last season, her output was almost cut in half as she posted 5.4 ppg with a sizeable drop in shooting percentage. However, that had a lot to do with Minnesota’s Macaya Copeland showing up and teaming up with Piper Ingalls to lead a two-headed offensive attack. Both finished the year in the top five in Canada West in points per game, as Copeland had 16.6 and Ingalls had 15.9.

The Bobcats went 7-13 to return to the post-season for the first time since 2017 — outside of the post-COVID-19 campaign when everyone participated in the playoffs.

McLeod’s role shifted to a defensive one and she accepted it, doing whatever it took to help the team.

“It was just to adapt to the level of play they were giving. I’m a pretty adaptable player. I like to pick and choose. I’m the Swiss Army knife of the team, I think, especially last year,” McLeod said.

“This year will be a little bit different, a little more leadership than last year.”

Now with Ingalls gone to play professional basketball in Ireland and Australian Ella Averill at Fordham University in New Jersey, McLeod is ready to take some of that scoring load back.

She knows it won’t be easy to replace the program’s second-highest all-time scorer, Ingalls, who netted more than 1,000 points in five years.

“It takes a village to raise what we need to raise,” McLeod said. “That’s one of the things we need to focus on. It’s not going to be so individualized; it’s going to be more team play.”

The five-foot-eight guard has been impressed with how teammates like Renee Dauphinais and Jayna Maytwayashing have developed as leaders, and noted one of the most improved players from last year has been former Vincent Massey Viking Jessie Sumner.

“She has stepped up, and her confidence level has been up to peak. I absolutely love it,” McLeod said of her teammate and City of Brandon co-worker from the summer.

“She changes the way you look at life, just because of how positive she is. She’s very skill-oriented and one of the goofiest kids … but when we really need her to lock in, she locks in.

“She’s locked in mentally with trying to be a leader with the team. Like I said, everything’s going to be by committee. She’s adding to that committee, and we’re very grateful to have that kid.”

And Sumner isn’t the only local recruit McLeod is high on. Sanford Collegiate product Halle Penner, who was named Manitoba’s AAA player of the year in June, is quickly finding her footing in her first pre-season.

“That kid is actually incredible. She’s one of my favourite basketball players, man,” McLeod said.

“I like her energy, I like what she gives, I like that she doesn’t give up. She has a great attitude to want to be great here, and I think she will be great one day.”

The Bobcats travelled to British Columbia in September to face the UBC Thunderbirds and University of the Fraser Valley Cascades.

They also played the Cascades last week in Winnipeg.

It’s been a bit of a contrast from last year’s exhibition season, which included a slate of easier games that the Bobcats went 7-2 in to build confidence heading into the season.

“It was nice to play against somebody we haven’t played, and it gave us different looks to see what we actually need to work on,” McLeod said of the losses to two of the top four teams in Canada West’s Pacific Division.

“Transition offence and defence were things we needed to work on. We produce pretty well in practice, but overall, it was everybody’s first games with each other.”

BU and Algoma will meet again on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Bobcats then host the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers on Oct. 16, and visit the Minot State Beavers the following day.

The regular-season opener is on Oct. 23 at the Healthy Living Centre against the Winnipeg Wesmen. It’ll just be one game, with another single-game weekend to follow at the University of Manitoba on Nov. 1.

FREE THROWS: The BU men’s basketball team hosts the Regina Cougars on Oct. 13 … The Bobcat men’s volleyball team is in Kingston, Ont., for the Queen’s University tournament this weekend, including Laval and York.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com