Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

McMaster University Athletics

HOME OF THE MCMASTER MARAUDERS
Evie Streight McMaster Basketball

Women's Basketball Kelsea O'Brien

EVIE STREIGHT HAS THE HEART OF A CHAMPION, AND THE MEDAL TO PROVE IT

by Kelsea O'Brien

HAMILTON, Ont. - If the 2018-2019 McMaster Marauders women's basketball team were the 2018-2019 Toronto Raptors, Evie Streight would be Jordan Loyd.

Her journey into university athletics was not a typical one. She didn't attend McMaster for the sports, but instead for their renowned Kinesiology program, from which she graduated in December. She didn't arrive on an athletic scholarship, instead earning a walk-on spot with the team in 2015, her first year at McMaster. 

Hailing from Kingston and playing basketball with many of the players on the Queen's University team throughout her youth, the option to stay close to home was enticing, but after visiting the Mac campus over the summer after high school, Evie packed her bags and headed to Hamilton. 

Evie StreightGrowing up with four athletically inclined older siblings, Evie's childhood and early years were spent shuffling from arena, to track, to rink, as her parents, by nothing short of a miracle, managed to be in multiple places at once for their children. While her eldest brother, Jairus, and twin sister, Sage gravitated towards individual sports, Evie, Jesse, and Aaron were partial to team sports, with Evie playing soccer, volleyball, and basketball. 

Sports were Evie's life from as early as she could remember, but it wasn't until grade 8, after a growth spurt that stretched her to nearly 5'10, that she began to play basketball. Admittedly, she wasn't LeBron James when she first stepped onto the court. "I honestly just wasn't good enough to be a playmaker" says Streight.

She was tall, and she was athletic, but she lacked the skill that her teammates possessed. Her competitive nature didn't allow her to ride the bench for long, and between grade 8 and high school, the raw talent that she entered with soon became polished, with coaches taking notice of her tenacity, drive, and grit. By grade 11, assured by her coaches that she could play at the university level, Evie made the decision to focus primarily on basketball, with volleyball and soccer still visible in the rearview.

Arriving at McMaster after being lauded by high school coaches presented Streight with another learning curve. For her, sports were always fun. She didn't have dreams of going pro, and didn't train around the clock. Sports were the biggest patch on the quilt of her life, but they weren't everything. 

The difference in dynamic between high school and university basketball was night and day. Her teammates and opponents had been preparing for these moments since they could walk. Their coaches, recreationally and in school, had been preparing them for this. It wasn't "just a game" to them. For them, it was everything. 

To Evie, whose athletic background was more relaxed than her peers, the concept of only giving opportunities to the best of the best was foreign. Though always the tallest girl in her class, and several inches taller than her twin sister, this was the first time in
Suit
Jordan Lloyd, the 'random guy in a suit'
during "the shot" by Kawhi Leonard
Evie's life that she felt like a fish out of water. The skills she had developed throughout high school did not translate to the university game. She felt behind in her experience and her skills, a feeling that ultimately affected her confidence and her playmaking ability. The sport she had enjoyed for her entire teenaged life was suddenly fighting back, like an inescapable blast of cold air. 

Her confidence may have been shaken to a level that she had not felt before, but the grit and determination that catapulted Evie into basketball in the first place was ever-prominent. Knowing that in a group of women so talented, she was less than likely to become the Marauders' leading scorer, she shifted her focus from becoming the best player to becoming the best teammate. Inspired by the veterans she played alongside, always encouraging her and never singling her out, Evie's passion for sports took her from the court to the locker room. 

She assisted her rookie teammates off the court, in the same fashion that her teammates had done for her. Her final two years of school she worked as a student therapist for McMaster's rugby team, as well as holding a position at the Joan Buddle Service Desk, while also working for the outdoor recreation program, Altitude. Evie served as an executive for McMaster Athletes Care, mentoring participants from the Hamilton Boys and Girls Club, and empowering them through sport. 

The new purpose Evie found in being a peer first and athlete second translated onto the court as well. Alongside her teammates, some she had assisted, and some who had assisted her, Evie and the 2018-2019 McMaster Marauders were able to deliver McMaster their first ever U-Sports championship. 

Like Jordan Loyd, Evie did not carry the team on her shoulders in a physical sense. She knows this. She knows that her impact off of the court provided more than her on-court Suitabilities ever could. Skills and athleticism can be conveyed through stat lines and numerical breakdowns, but heart never can. Evie Streight has the heart of a championship, and the medal to prove it. She is so much more than "a random girl in a suit."
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Evie Streight

#4 Evie Streight

4

Players Mentioned

Evie Streight

#4 Evie Streight

4