CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – Kiera Rigby will do something she’s done 49 times before but her 50th opportunity will be her last.
The fifth-year forward will suit up for her final home game tonight as the UPEI Panthers host the Dalhousie Tigers at 6 p.m.
“Five years as a Panther just flew by,” she said after Friday’s victory. “You’re so wrapped up in the season that you don't even have a chance to appreciate that this is your very last time stepping on this court as an eligible Panther.”
Rigby, a 22-year-old Charlottetown native, was honoured as a fourth-year graduate before last year’s final home game, but there was always the possibility she could return for a fifth season.
“I had that little glimmer of hope where, maybe, if the stars aligned, I might be able to come back for a fifth year and it did and I enjoyed it so much,” she said.
Rigby has been a leader on and off the court and helped the Panthers back to respectability in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS).
“She’s not just a basketball player,” head coach Greg Gould said. “She’s a great student. . . She’s the whole package. She’s the kind of kid you want in your program.”
Gould recruited her out of Colonel Gray High School even after she lost her Grade 10 and 12 seasons due to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgeries. She’s missed two games during her varsity career.
“I was pretty confident with her athleticism and attitude she would be a very good player at the AUS,” Gould said. “I don't think I could have predicted that she would be one of, if not the top scorer in the AUS. I certainly knew she was capable of big things.”
Rigby enters tonight’s game third in conference scoring at 18.8 points per game while Cape Breton’s Alison Keough and Acadia’s Paloma Anderson sit atop the leaderboard at 19.2 and 18.9, respectively. Both of the leaders have played their final games of the season.
“She’s had an excellent season,” Gould said, but “I don't think it’s the prize she, or any one of us, are looking for.”
Gould said the forward really came into her own in her third season and he pointed to one thing that has helped her reach the upper echelon.
“Kiera’s been a hard worker,” he said. “Kiera has taken, probably, more shots outside of practice than anybody on our team. . . She’s in the gym every day shooting the basketball. That’s one of the reasons she’s as good as she is, because she’s put a lot of extra work into it.”
Rigby, known for her engaging, friendly personality, has also taken on a leadership role in helping raise awareness of things like breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease through various events. She said the community has been very receptive.
“The parents, the supporters, the fans, the kids, the alumni, everyone has just come together,” she said. “Everyone who has come through as a Panther has felt this immense community support that’s so pivotal to our experience here.”
There’s one small piece of unfinished business, she hopes to take care of at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax in March at the AUS championship.
“I really want to get that banner,” she said, noting her mother, Eireann, won a title about 20 years ago, playing for coach Tracy Ellsworth, who is the mother of current Panthers point guard Jenna Mae Ellsworth.
Rigby graduated from UPEI in 2017 with a science degree with a major in biology and minor in biomedical physics. She is doing undergraduate research this year in biomedical physics and exercise physiology. She has applied to pursue becoming a chiropractor or physiotherapist.
Wherever the next road of her life takes her, the lessons learned at UPEI will always be with her.
“I know that I put my heart and soul into this program and can be confident that I’m a better person because of the experiences that I went through here and the friends that I made,” she said.
Need to know
Kiera Rigby
Who – A forward with the UPEI Panthers women’s basketball team.
Personal – Rigby is a 22-year-old Charlottetown native.
Career statistics
Season GP Pts/G Reb/G Assist/G
2017-18 19 18.8 4.4 2.1
2016-17 20 13.9 4.2 1.4
2015-16 20 9.8 3.9 1.7
2014-15 18 4.2 4.7 0.9
2013-14 20 4.9 4.1 0.8