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WOLFVILLE, N.S. —

In setting an Acadia Axewomen basketball scoring record Jan. 24 at Wolfville, Haley McDonald passed one of her childhood heroes.

McDonald, the fourth-year point guard from Port Williams, sank her 157th career three-pointer in Atlantic University Sport regular-season play to grab the school record that belonged to Emma Duinker, who played five seasons at Acadia before going pro.

“It’s just a very surreal feeling that she is the person that held the record originally,” said McDonald, who secured the mark with the first of her trio of three-pointers in Acadia’s 82-59 victory in the opening game of the Axewomen’s recent two-game weekend sweep of the UNB Reds.

Growing up in the Annapolis Valley, McDonald regularly attended Acadia’s games along with her basketball buddies, including her fellow current Axewomen teammates Jayda Veinot, Meghan MacLeod, Abbie Fox and Hannah Fuller.

“Just watching (Duinker), I wanted to model my game after her,” said the five-foot-five McDonald. “She was like an idol to me. I thought that she was amazing. She was such a great player and she had these leadership skills that I wanted to follow. And her shooting ability was just unreal and looked effortless.

“She was a lot taller than I am, so I think the being-Emma-Duinker dream kind of went away. As young girls, we do idolize these university players and we want to be like them, but when it comes down to it, we are all very unique and we all have these different sets of abilities that make what we do so special.

“So, the way that I’m able to break that record is a little bit different than how Emma originally set it, because we’re very different players and we have very different games.”

Averaging 24 points per game, McDonald has scored 42 three-pointers through 14 games in this 20-game regular season.

For coach Len Harvey, it was just a matter of time before his three-point wizard set the Acadia standard and climbed in the AUS record books in the process.

“The pace at which she’s been putting the numbers up, some of these things aren’t too surprising,” Harvey said. “The other part is she still has 26 games left (including next season). It’s a record we knew was going to fall at some point this season. Maybe it fell a little bit faster than expected, but it wasn’t anything that I was anticipating her not breaking.

“Haley is at another level. We’ve had some great shooters come through here. Emma (Duinker) was a great player, but just seeing Haley and what she’s able to do from (three-point land) was pretty special. By the end of this season, I can’t see her not being in second for all-time three-point field goals made in our conference’s history.”

ALL-TIME HIGHS

With six games left in the regular season, McDonald stands fourth on the AUS women’s all-time list, just four three-pointers shy of the second-place mark (163) that belongs to Kelsey Hodgson of the Cape Breton Capers from a decade ago. The record holder is former Saint Mary’s Huskies star Jadranka Crnogorac, who drained 226 three-pointers through five seasons in the 1990s.

“It’s a pretty significant jump to the No. 1 spot, where Jad is,” Harvey said. “We’ll see (whether McDonald can break the record). I think it can be done, but it’s going to take her the 26 games left.”

That’s the kind of confidence Harvey has in the former Horton High standout, who the coach believes is so much more than a three-point shooter.

“Haley is just a special kid,” he said. “I love her to death. She’s the quintessential low-maintenance superstar. She’s about the team first. But she also plays with a real chip on her shoulder. She’s tough as nails. She’s a competitor, and that’s quite rare.

“I think what every (coach) is trying to find more and more, in 2020, are kids that really love to compete. Haley just loves to compete (not only in games), but also in practice, and even if she’s just in the gym shooting with me, she’s competing against herself. I’ve loved that about Haley since the moment we started recruiting her in high school.”

From carrying textbooks to netting a place in school record books, McDonald is on course for yet another university mark.

“The big record that Haley is really after is the ironwoman record,” Harvey said. “It’s just not achieved by many players. It’s pretty rarified air in the AUS just to play in all 100 conference games that you’re eligible for over five seasons. She’s on track so far. She’s never missed a game.”

McDonald, a kinesiology student who was Harvey’s first Acadia recruit, plans to honour the commitment she made to him to play the maximum five seasons with the Axewomen.

“I told Len when I was in my first year that I would play five years for him,” said McDonald, 22. “And I don’t want to not use my (fifth) year and then regret it later on.

“Sports is a roller-coaster and there’s lots ups and downs — there’s been times where I’ve thought about not doing a fifth year. But it all comes down to a love of the game, so if I can play a fifth year while I’m healthy enough to and able to do so, I don’t see why I would not."

FANS IN THE FAMILY

McDonald’s parents attend almost all of her games. They were in the Acadia stands during her record-setting weekend, as were her paternal grandparents.

“Growing up, I got into basketball in Grade 5 because my friends were playing and I wanted to play with them. But over the years, it’s something that’s brought specifically me and my dad (Scott) a lot closer. He always used to rebound for me, drive me around wherever I had to go, take me to all the skill sessions, and he made sure I had the newest (basketball) shoes or newest trends. He was just a true supporter in any way that he could.”

She’s made the most of her opportunities, especially in the face of increasing defensive pressure from AUS opponents.

“I’m known around the league as a three-point shooter, so any looks that I get, I really have to try my best to knock it down,” McDonald said. “Because I don’t get many looks from (three-point range).”

She’s hardly fixated on her personal success, especially with the Axewomen sporting a fashionable 11-3 record and in contention for a third straight AUS championship.

“When I graduate, or after the season, it might sink in more about the success that I’ve had,” McDonald said. “Shooting the ball the way that I shoot has just been something that I’ve done for a really long time, so it doesn’t seem super special to me, just because it’s what I do and what I’m used to.

“When I step back and look at it from more of a neutral point of view, I think it’s going to have more of an impact on me, for sure.”

McDonald has already made an impact in the AUS record books. She scored a remarkable 51 points in Acadia’s 88-84 semifinal win over the UPEI Panthers at last year’s conference championship tournament in Halifax.

@JohnnyMacHockey

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