Cougars’ Tell excited to begin fifth season at U of R

Despite many injuries throughout her time as a University of Regina Cougars athlete, Madeleine Tell is getting ready to tip off Year 5 with the women’s basketball program.

“It means so much to me. I’ve had a rocky few years with injuries and such and I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to play this year,” the Regina product said.

“I feel very lucky that my body is allowing me to play and this is a great group of girls that I am so happy to play with, so I am super-excited to be playing this year.”

After a bye during the first weekend of Canada West action, the Cougars will take on the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday and Saturday night in Langley, B.C.

Tell, a guard, excelled at Luther College High School before joining the Cougars in 2018.

But injuries have plagued her at the U Sports level. Tell tore an ACL in the summer of 2020 and then, in May 2021, she tore a labrum.

The injury bug struck once again when she again tore the ACL in December of 2022 and then dislocated her shoulder and tore the labrum in January, putting an end to her season.

“I tried to play and ended up injuring it again. It was on that second injury where it was like I needed to come back – I just didn’t want to go out like that and I felt like the game was a bit taken from me,” Tell said. “I decided that I was going to get the surgery and rehab and come back this year.”

She was the Canada West nominee last season for the U Sports Tracy MacLeod Award, which rewards determination, perseverance, and unwavering spirit.

Cougars head coach Dave Taylor is happy Tell will get a chance to play out her final year of U Sports eligibility.

“On purely a basketball side, she really helps us. It’s another talented player who can hit shots and do all kinds of stuff for us,” Taylor said. “On the personal side, I’m excited for her too. It’s important for her in terms of trying to finish on her terms so I’m thrilled for her to (do that).”

The Cougars will look to build off of last year’s 18-4 campaign that came to an end in the semifinal round after a 71-62 loss to the Calgary Dinos.

“We had a really good season and we played well in playoffs and we had a few downfalls and didn’t make nationals last year,” Tell said. “I think we’re excited for this season and have a bit of fire under us after we didn’t make it to nationals last year.”

The U of R men’s basketball team will also begin its Canada West season against Trinity Western this weekend.

The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s (2-0) and men’s (1-1) teams are to host the MacEwan Griffins over the weekend.