NAIT Women's Basketball: 2025 Season Preview
October 17, 2025
NAIT's women's basketball team is on the doorstep of a new and thrilling season with a great determination to improve their past performance, polishing their abilities and becoming more skilled in what they already are.
For the first time in four years, there is a "balanced" team, with four 5th years, a couple of 3rd years, and the addition of new faces too, which makes the team feel that they are not overly old or young either.
The responsibilities of the team are also distributed equally among the players, which makes the athletes know that everyone's job is equally important and makes them rely on each other more when any challenge arises. A huge challenge for the season is to manage a big roster and to keep in touch with everyone while having them on the same page.
Head coach Kiera Lyons mentions that this challenge is viewed as an opportunity for the team, allowing her to take a step back and let them take charge: "I want to take a step back and allow them to steer their own ship. I want to say less in practice and just guide them occasionally."
After a couple of years of developing a winning culture, head coach Lyons reveals that she needed to loosen control and trust her leaders to grow together stronger and more confident in what they can do on their own.
Trust is the base of the team, and when pursuing goals, it is fundamental to trust each other, which means also celebrating when positive things happen to others around you. That mentality develops a balance in the players' perspectives, knowing that even if they don't achieve their personal goals at first, they are improving as a team.
Coach Lyons shares her perspective on this philosophy, expressing that it is a delicate coordination that will deliver benefits for the future: "The vision that I try to provide is that if you do your best and develop your role to the optimal, so we can win, you will earn more because of that. Although it is still a difficult theory to embody."
This mindset will support prodigious players throughout the season, who are expected to lead it.
Payton Neilson, a powerful player who was an all-star the last two years.
Makayla Rose, a veteran transferred who played with the ACAC in the past.
Having such a strong vision of a demanding sport like basketball, and with the support of a talented roster, it is a great combination for success. The Ooks women's basketball team will certainly take advantage of in the new season