There’s a reason why rebounding is sometimes called an ‘effort stat.’
Because as VIU Mariners veteran Jenna Carver is showing again and again this season, grabbing possession of that basketball is, first and foremost, about effort.
Carver, who is from Nanaimo, is in the midst of her final – and finest – season at Vancouver Island University. She was the Pacific Western Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week last week after recording back-to-back double-doubles, including one game with 21 points and 23 rebounds.
It was her second 20-plus rebound game this season; she leads the PacWest in rebounding with 12.3 per game and has climbed into the top 10 in scoring, too, at 11.7 points per game.
Bill McWhinnie, coach of the Mariners, called Carver the heart of the team.
“She’s about the hardest-working kid I’ve ever coached…” he said. “She’s a team-first kid that just plays so much harder than everybody else at times.”
Listed at 5-foot-9, Carver isn’t generally going to have the reach advantage when she’s in the paint, going up for a ball that clangs off the rim. It comes down to the game within the game, she said – the competition of going for the same ball as the opponent and trying to win it.
“I honestly just try really hard and have a lot of passion when I play and just go for the ball and don’t give up,” she said.
She goes for everything and there’s no ball that she doesn’t think she can get, McWhinnie said. That effort, plus her hoop sense and her strength and fitness, leads to a whole lot of boards.
It’s helping her score a lot more points than she has in the past, too. The coaching staff has given her the confidence to shoot more, she said, and the strong play of teammates including forward Sienna Pollard and guard Amanda Tapia creates open looks for Carver and others.
The group is encouraged by what it’s accomplishing on the court. Success is important, especially since the M’s are hosting nationals this March and want to win provincials so they can earn their way.
“Coming in, we were all pretty unsure, and people underestimated us,” Carver said. “Now it’s the second [half of the] season, we’ve kind of shown our true colours.”
Every step the M’s take makes them feel like they can get where they want to go.
“I definitely think that our goal is achievable,” Carver said. “I know we’re all a lot more certain of it.”
The Mariners women’s team split their home games this weekend, edging out Capilano University Blues by a score of 48-46. The following day they dropped a 50-42 game to Quest University Kermodes. The women sit at second spot in the standings.
The Mariners men’s team was in action at VIU gym too, with a lopsided victory over Capilano by a score of 105-63. The men’s team also beat Quest 93-82 to retain first place in the PacWest division.
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