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Lorette forward Carmen Hiebert transfers from Douglas College to Wesmen
Carmen Hiebert is coming home to live “the dream.” Hiebert, a 6-foot transfer post from Lorette, Man., has committed to head coach Alyssa Cox and the Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball program in the Class of 2023.
She will have three years of eligibility after playing her first two seasons with the Douglas College Royals of the PacWest.
Hiebert averaged 7.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 18 conference games last season as a sophomore with the Royals. She averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds as a rookie and, over two seasons, appeared in all 36 Royals conference games, starting 12.
After the pandemic wiped out her Grade 11 year, and seriously hindered her Grade 12 experience, Hiebert said her desire was to find a place away from home to take on a new challenge. She found head coach Steve Beauchamp and the Douglas program the right fit for her.
“It was always a desire to move away from home,” she said. “I felt with Steve, he’s been in the community for such a long time and was a good coach, so it was a really good pick.”
“In between my first year and second year, being home, I was looking for training opportunities and I started going to open runs with different players, and I started talking to Alyssa. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I haven’t been able to play in front of my family in years, so just the opportunity to play in front of them at the next level is the dream.”
Hiebert played up on the varsity squad in her Grade 10 year at Lorette, helping the team to a fourth-place finish at AAA provincials.
She was a member of the 2019 16U Manitoba provincial team that competed at the 2019 Western Canada Summer Games, and played her club in the Winnipeg Wolves system.
Hiebert describes her game with the words of interior grit — “love to rebound, love to post up … and provide a big presence inside.”
“I think I grew my game IQ. I know I grew my game IQ a lot in two years (at Douglas),” she said. Going from no basketball to post-secondary was a big jump, especially coming from a small town. I think I grew a lot as a player and as a person.”
Cox is always happy to bring a local talent home, and with Hiebert she believes she has a talent to take on key roles in 2023.
“We are excited to welcome Carmen back home to Manitoba and to our Wesmen program,” Cox said. “She had a tremendous two years playing at Douglas College and has really developed her skill and her knowledge of the game. She is a great decision maker in the post and her strength and power inside will make it a smooth transition for her to the U Sports level. We expect these talents to make her impactful right away for us on the floor.”
Hiebert is already back in Winnipeg and on campus training with her new team.
“I’ve been waiting for this and I’m really excited.”
She joins a 2023 class that includes River East’s Jen Kallon, Beliveau’s Jazmin Birch, Sisler’s Alyssa Doneza and Fort Erie International Academy’s Jasia Hayden.