Nicole Gilmore’s career with Carleton women’s basketball began five years ago and now it’s quickly coming to an end.
“It just happens so fast,” the fifth-year guard and criminology student said.
Gilmore was named the Ontario University Athletics defensive player of the year, a first team all-star, and a second-team All-Canadian this year. Her previous accolades include winning the provincial and national championships with the Ravens.
“I’ve always played with a chip on my shoulder,” Gilmore said. “I’ve always played with grit and energy and hustle, and I think I’m always the kid that’s trying really hard and giving effort.”
Off the court, Gilmore said she’s a different person—someone who cares for others and has a big heart. Gilmore said a former teammate once described her as someone who plays “super aggressive and gritty on the court” but is “the biggest bear off the court.”
Gilmore recalls not being one of those “big names” in women’s university basketball.
“I was always trying to prove to myself and others—opponents, coaches—that I am here and I am here to play,” she added.
Over time, she’s earned the respect of her teammates and opponents alike.
“Nicole’s always been a gritty player,” Erin Burns, McMaster Marauders guard, said. Burns grew up playing against Gilmore.
“Such a hard-working player and she’s consistently improved each and every single year, so all the credit to her,” Burns added. “She deserves everything, all the accolades she’s getting.”
Gilmore met Ravens head coach Taffe Charles during a Montreal tournament and they continued to talk afterwards. “I had a weird feeling from the jump that I really, really liked Carleton,” she said.
Gilmore committed there for the 2014-15 season and said she was prepared for Carleton’s intensity. However, she initially struggled with her confidence.
“I think I was a little bit scared,” she said. “More fear than anything. I think if I just told myself to be confident from the get go, it could have [been] different.”
She remembers being scared of mistakes and not wanting them to happen. However, her mindset and confidence improved by her second and third year.
“With the help of my coaches, I think I just found things that I excelled in and things that I kept as a main focus,” she said.
“When I wasn’t doing well, or I was struggling or I was upset with how I was playing, my set point would always be defence and rebounds and then that always fluctuated and turned into my offensive success,” she added.
Gilmore got more minutes in her following years—which helped build up her confidence.
“You are the person that has to look in front of the mirror and say, ‘are you confident or not? are you putting in the work?’ so that’s what I try to do,” she added. “I would just shoot a lot and I would say ‘I know this is going to go in’ because I’ve been in the gym.”
In her third season at Carleton, Gilmore won her first OUA championship and nationals bronze medal. Symbolically, she clinched her team’s spot at nationals in the semifinals against McMaster, hauling in a last-second rebound against Burns, who broke her collarbone on the play.
“I remember the rebound was up for grabs . . . and seconds were going down and I knew how tight the game was and honestly, in my mind, it wasn’t really an option whose ball it was,” Gilmore said. “I saw it and I knew I was getting [it].”
After a “painful” loss at nationals, Gilmore’s team bounced back in 2017-18 with an undefeated season and their first national title. However, it wasn’t easy for her as she had a calf contusion in her leg during the quarterfinals.
“The swelling wasn’t stopping and I just basically wasn’t able to put any pressure on it whatsoever. So, that was really annoying, because I’m usually never injured,” she said.
Gilmore recalls being treated with therapy constantly and even proving to the coaches she could play by running in the hallways.
“There wasn’t a question at all in my mind that I wasn’t going to play,” she said.
She did play in the end.
“You’re kind of in that dream state of shock and that this really, really just happened and it doesn’t wear off for a while,” she said on winning nationals in 2018.
Now, after five years of her Ravens career, she faces an uncertain future. She’s trying to keep her doors open, whether that be through teacher’s college or other endeavours.
“In a dream world, I just want to do something and be happy with the decision,” she said. “Just be happy and healthy.”
— With files from Tim Austen.
Image by Tim Austen
