Canada West first-team all-star Cassie Cooke has left the Brandon University women’s basketball team after one impactful season.
"Whenever you have a conference all-star leave your program, whether it’s after their first year or their fifth year or the third year, it hurts," coach Novell Thomas told CKLQ’s Tyler Crayston. "Cass needed to be back home with friends and family and that’s why she didn’t come back."
Cooke led the nation in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per-game and helped the Lady ‘Cats to a 6-16 record, which is the program’s highest win total in 30 years.
"The goal is still to win more games next year, despite who is left and who has departed the program. It’s an opportunity for others to step up and there’s an opportunity for some other players to come in and fill the void," said Thomas. "What can you do about it, you just move forward. Either way it’s a big void that you need to fill and it’s my job to make sure that we fill that void."
