Leighton Geraghty – Contributor

Over the course of the past two years, I have been very fortunate to work closely with the Women’s Basketball program. Last year, saw a historic season from the team as they made their way to BC in March as representatives of the RSEQ conference at the USports Final eight. The veteran presence of the Gaiters helped them beat Laval in the RSEQ finals. This veteran squad was equally matched by the hungry recruits brought in. One of them in particular is Shaylan Greaves. The Châteauguay native was a pest on the ball and always put others before herself. In the semi finals matchup against McGill, Greaves was granted Player of the Game due to her resiliency on the glass, hard dough defence and ability to generate offence through her vision. This game saw legendary Coach Eddie Pomykala congratulate Greaves as she had the best zero point performance in school history. Some may think of this as an insult but it is far from it. Without Greaves on the court the end result could have been very different. 

Over the course of the summer, I worked alongside Shay for the Bishop’s Day Camp. We developed a great friendship, and I got to know who Shay is off of the basketball court. Of course, like any other friendship, we would make fun of one another, and I would poke fun at the fact that she dropped zero points in the semis. Well that came quite fast to bite me in the butt, as early in the preseason this year, she scored a career high of 34 points in a win over nationally ranked UNB. In her sophomore year, Greaves really established herself as one of the top threats on the Bishop’s roster. On the court, Shay is quite literally a dawg. She can score from anywhere, breakdown the defence with her vision and shut down your best player. Now, let’s get to know who she is off the hard floor and in her everyday clothes. 

LEIGHTON: “Outside of basketball, what makes you happy?”

SHAY: “Something that makes me happy outside of basketball is truly just spending time with the people that I care about. Whether that’s family or friends here in Sherbrooke or back in Montreal, for me that time spent is the best time spent.” 

LEIGHTON: “Post-graduation, what are you inspiring to do?”

SHAY: “After graduation, I know I want to help children, whether that’s in teaching or social work. I just want to be impactful to the younger generation.” 

LEIGHTON: “Why Bishop’s?”SHAY: “At first, I didn’t know much about Bishop’s until I got recruited here. When I came on my visit, that’s when I was able to make up my mind and wanted to come here mainly because this school feels like a community. I enjoyed the fact that even when I’m not super close to my family in Montréal, I have built and have a supported group of people here at Bishop’s.”