After scoring 21 points in Western’s 66-53 win over the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, Mustang guard Amanda Anderson earned this week’s Purple Pipe for an outstanding athletic performance. The Gazette caught up with Anderson at practice to discuss winning awards, playing in Europe and having her pants pulled down.

How long have you been playing basketball and why did you start?
I started in Grade three. I had an older sister who played so I would go to her practices and I came to love the sport. I started playing competitively in Grade 10.
What makes this team different from last year’s?
A lot of things actually. This year we’re a lot more gritty and aggressive on defence. We’re still a great team but just a totally different style of play. We got a bunch of recruits and some transfers, which is nice. We have one coming in at Christmas and she’s from the States, and I know she’ll be a big help.
What does the team need to work on?
We definitely need to work on rebounding. Boxing out is number one on our list. We have to make that a point of emphasis to really box out and then once we grab defensive balls it gets our offensive game going. We have a few six-footers but for the most part we’re a small team […] so we just have to work [hard] all of the time.
How did it feel to become the all-time leading scorer in Mustangs history?
It was pretty awesome. I had no idea it was coming until the day before. It was really nice to have Michele Vesprini — the [woman] who had the record before me — [come] and [present] me with the award. It was really nice that she could come back and do that cause she was a really great player, one of the best in Western history, so that was really fun.
Any pre-game rituals?
Last year, with Bess Lennox, it’s really ridiculous but we’d listen to Soulja Boy and just laugh because it was ridiculous. This year there isn’t really a ritual that I do before the game, but I always eat the same bagel from The Great Canadian Bagel every game.
What’s it like playing for coach Stephan Barrie?
He’s a really intense coach for sure. We have a really good relationship on and off the court. He knows how to push players to the limit. He came in [during] my second year, so being with him for four years has really helped improve my game because he pushes me in practice. He’s a really good coach.
This is your last year at Western. What are your plans for next year?
I’m hoping to go play overseas for a couple of years. I think that would be really awesome. I’m not done basketball. Five years isn’t enough at university, so I just want to keep playing if I can.
Favourite basketball memory?
Last year was the first time in four years that I had won a playoff game. We beat [McMaster]. Every year we’d been second in the league [and] we got a first round bye, so I had never played in the quarter-final. Last year we got our bye and we actually won, which was a big accomplishment because we’d had that on our backs for four years and everyone knew it. Unfortunately we lost to Windsor in the finals, but we’re going to go get them this year.
Most embarrassing athletic moment?
In high school I got a pass and I was just holding the ball over my head to outlet the ball. A girl was running back on defence, and she didn’t really mean to but she pulled my shorts down. I had spandex on, but I was just holding the ball over my head and the refs didn’t know if they should blow the whistle or not, so I just passed the ball and pulled my pants back up. My mom was so embarrassed. I was in grade 10, so it wasn’t too bad, but it was pretty embarrassing. For a while everyone would ask if I had my pants tied, so I never made that mistake again.
What does the team normally do to stay entertained on the bus?
We watch movies a lot. We travel with the men’s team and it’s always a battle on the bus for who gets to pick the movie. We always have to watch, I don’t even know, stupid war movies or something and then they’ll get [upset] if we put on a chick-flick. This year we went with them to Laval, [which] was a nine-hour trip, so we went back and forth with movies. We do a lot of schoolwork too.
Best pump up music?
Actually, before games our coach makes a video — kind of a highlight reel of the game before — and it’s really awesome. He’ll have the plays from the game before to get you fired up and just to show you how good you can be when you play at your best. We always watch one of those before a game, which is really good.
If you had to choose, which of your teammates would you least like to encounter opposing you and why?
Jenny Vaughan. She’s a redshirt this year, and everyday in practice we […] have to go head-to-head. She’s such a competitor and she played down in the States too. She’s [a] transfer, so she can’t play for another year. She’s so competitive. We both are; so every day in practice you want to be on each other’s team so you don’t have to deal with each other.

Laura Barclay/Gazette