Leah Tate didn't start competitive basketball until her fifth year of high school. Now going into her third year of U SPORTS with the Windsor Lancers, she is a starting guard for a team looking to repeat and improve on their 18-4 season in 2024.
From the pitch to the paint
Soccer was the sport that attracted Leah throughout her childhood and into high school. Up through grade eight and into her first four years of high school, she played and focused on soccer, and a drive to want to play with her friends and family was what made her try basketball in her final year of high school, and fall in love with it.
"When I got into Grade 8 I made my decision of what sport I wanted to focus on and that was soccer," Tate told OB.SESSED. "All of high school from Grade 9 to 12 I wasn't playing basketball."
Leah remembered how fun basketball was when she got the opportunity to play alongside her cousins and her friends.
For her final year of high school she joined the Tecumseh Saints travel team which were a part of the Ontario Basketball Association.
From Tecumseh in the OBA to Windsor United in AAU, Leah got experience throughout her final year of high school and the summer leading into her first year of U SPORTS playing in her hometown.
Scouted
Holy Names High was where Leah went to school in Windsor, and a attendee at one of her games in her fifth year was Windsor women's basketball coach Chantal Vallee.
A scouting, led to conversations, led to inquiry, led to Windsor getting a new guard from the city. Leah Tate would be going to school and playing for her local university.
"Me personally, I like being home and I like being with my family. A majority of my family, they all live in Windsor so that was definitely a part of my decision, especially staying home.
My family is super supportive of me and they come to as many home games as possible. There's usually quite a bit of them and looking up in the stands and being able to see them, that support means a lot to me."
Trust and Confidence
Leah played 19 games in her first year, the home games in front of her family, playing just under 22 minutes per game as the Lancers went 11-11.
She was a key rotation player for Windsor as a rookie, leading the team in minutes off the bench. As she dealt with the nerves of the new experience playing in the OUA, she gained knowledge of the game at that level and the nerves turned into good nerves and confidence.
Trust in what she's doing on the floor, confidence in what her and her teammates can do, Leah's second year came with less second guessing, and a starting role in over half of her games.
"In my first year I would have some games where I'm doing really good offensively, and other games I would just be floating around and playing defence. I feel like in my second year I was a little bit more consistent on both ends of the court, not just having one game where I do really well offensively, more games where I'd do really well offensively and defensively as well."
That consistency helped the Lancers push for the top of the division. A 18-4 record and a home game against the team who finished second in their division, the Lancers had a outstanding year in 2024. Leah averaged the third most points on the team with the third most total assists (33) and the most total steals (35).
"In the flow"
If there was a phrase to describe the Lancers 2024 season, it may be "in the flow". They went through the season consistently at the top of their division, and when it came down to tiebreakers at the end of January, Leah found herself in that flow.
Windsor had won their previous matchup with Guelph 66-63 just weeks before but to secure the full tiebreaker for the lead in the division, they would have to beat Guelph again, on the road on Jan. 31.
In a game where the team had to have it, Leah put together a performance that nobody could take her out of, and scored her career high with 22 points in the Lancers 77-73 win.
Leah is really excited for the team going into her third season at Windsor. The Lancers are trying to have another great season and for Leah the sights are on making it even better than last year.
A key part of a well-rounded group of guards on the team, Leah is ready to show what she's been working on and push Windsor further than they've been.