“I remember looking at her and the way she was disciplined and really wanted to perform really stood out to me,” Mercille told The IX Basketball. She’s happy to be playing with Bessette, instead of against her.
Mercille hadn’t talked with Bessette until Loyola Chicago was recruiting her. At a dinner with Bessette and her family, Mercille saw how genuine and hardworking she was. Bessette comes from an athletic family; her mom played volleyball, while her dad played basketball. Soccer was Bessette’s first love, and she began playing basketball because her brother was playing. But her enjoyment of the sport eventually came around:
“Just seeing the ball go through the net, or just getting a block, or just — the feeling of doing every little thing on the court is so fun,” Bessette told The IX Basketball.
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When Loyola Chicago head coach Allison Guth was recruiting Bessette, her sportsmanship and humility, as well as her skill, versatility, and love for the game stood out. Guth knew that though Bessette’s size, ability and skill set would fit within the Ramblers’ system, they would lead her to success no matter which college she chose to attend.
As Bessette went through the recruitment process, she realized that she liked the culture of the team and of the Loyola Chicago campus as a whole. She also valued the relationships she had built with the Ramblers’ coaches. Bessette knew that when she left home for college, she would have a second family in Chicago. When she couldn’t go home for Thanksgiving or Christmas, she would be surrounded by people who cared about her.
Due to the timing of her high school graduation, Bessette joined the Ramblers at the end of the summer and missed the team’s eight-week summer session. While she trained and did skill workouts at home, she missed team workouts.
“I had to be a bit strategic in what I implemented in the summer, so I wasn’t getting too advanced in what we wanted to do,” Guth told The IX Basketball. “So … [we were] a little delayed in some of our offensive concepts until Alex got to campus.”
When she finally got to Chicago, Bessette worked hard to catch up on what she missed. She gave herself some grace, remembered that everything takes time and ultimately surprised herself with how far she came out of her shell.
“The first week was rough …” Bessette said. “I felt like I was terrible at basketball. I was like, ‘Oof, that’s gonna be a rough year.’”
“Even in high school, I struggled with my confidence a little bit … and when I came here, I was really set mentally on doing my thing and not changing what I’m doing because of, like, if I’m confident or not. And I feel like that really helped me,” she continued.
Over time, Bessette’s confidence improved, aided by the belief her coaching staff and teammates had in her.
“Being surrounded by a family that just keeps pushing you to be better every day and puts a lot of faith and trust in you — it really helps,” she said.
The Ramblers’ coaching staff and her teammates have also helped Bessette shift how she reacts to failure and her own mistakes. She says they’ve taught her that it’s okay to make a mistake, as long as you’re aware of it and know how to fix it.
Mercille has seen Bessette set a good example for others through her actions, and knows that if someone on the team doesn’t know how to do something, they can look to Bessette, who is typically doing it correctly and with intensity.
“She’s a silent leader,” Mercille said. “She just does everything well. … Since she’s a freshman, she doesn’t lead with her voice yet, but she does everything well.”
By October, Guth told The IX Basketball she thinks Bessette is “the future of our program.”
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Twenty-two games into her college career, Bessette is averaging 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals per game and has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week twice. Though she’s exceeded her own expectations for this season, Bessette says she can keep improving and continues to work on her game.
Bessette started her basketball career as a point guard, which helped her understand the roles of multiple positions. Then, while she was in high school, Bessette’s coach saw the potential for her to expand her game because of her size and had her play as a forward often.
“You set up all the plays, you know what options are coming off of what screens, and all the reads,” Bessette said about her experience as a point guard. “So I feel like that already helps me from like [the] one, two and three perspective.”
Guth is excited about Bessette’s versatility and ability to play all five positions. In Loyola Chicago’s Dec. 18 game against Northwestern, senior Kira Chivers, the team’s starting point guard, was out due to injury. Sophomore guard Alexa Kinas was moved into her spot, but Bessette also ran the point during some possessions.
“You’ve [also] been able to see her at the wings, at the trail five, and most recently, we put her at our spot near the rim to be effective with mismatches,” Guth said. “… It’s really hard to make decisions on a scout against her when she has that versatility. It makes it fun from a coaching standpoint, because you can be really creative in how you utilize her on both sides of the floor.”
As Bessette continues to grow, Guth would like to see her be able to defend more positions as well. Guth has noticed Bessette is “maturing in frustration,” and trusting the coaching staff to put her in positions to be effective. She is also learning to handle the extra pressure opposing teams are putting on her.
When Bessette gets frustrated by a missed foul, or isn’t able to score around additional defenders, Guth is able to get straight to the point with her.
“I’m able to say, ‘We need to stop crying about it, be about it. We gotta fix our face. We gotta change our emotion. We gotta get it done on this end,’” Guth said. “And I think her maturity as a freshman, to be able to take that and not go within herself, be able to grab a straw, suck it up and think about the next thing — I think she responds well to that.”
Guth is impressed by Bessette’s desire to learn, and has seen the freshman build relationships with and spend time individually learning from the other coaches. She would like to see Bessette get more comfortable with her left hand and consistently defend with intensity, and sees her working on those areas every day.
“Whether … [she’s asked to be] playing in a gap off of a player, or having … to take on [a] post player, or providing length on a tricky guard, she values the assignment and figures a way to work on that,” Guth said.
But Guth also sees how much Bessette wants to get better and looks forward to seeing how improving Bessette’s explosiveness, strength and ball-handling will benefit her game.
“You’re not gonna see a kid who’s in the gym more, trying to get extra individual work in or do an extra film study with our coaching staff,” Guth said.
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Bessette’s actions that don’t show up in the box score, as well as her scoring, assists and improved presence on the glass (for a team that is 355th in Division I in rebounds per game (30.7)) have cemented Guth’s belief in what Bessette can do for the program. In just her third collegiate game, Bessette and the Ramblers traveled to No. 1 UConn. She finished with 7 points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals, one block, seven turnovers and no fouls in the 85-31 loss.
“She anticipates really well, has a good feel for the game,” Guth told The IX Basketball at Gampel Pavilion on Nov. 12. “Obviously, I know she had a couple forced turnovers trying to push us in transition tonight, but I really love the way she wants to play fast and can see the floor well.”
Bessette went 3-for-11 from the floor, and after the game, Guth said she wants Bessette to be scoring the ball more, and that they need to consistently get her shots. Though she didn’t score in Loyola Chicago’s next game against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, since Nov. 18, Bessette has averaged 13.4 points on 11.0 shots per game.
As Bessette continues to grow offensively, Guth wants to see Bessette find open teammates at the right time, especially when she’s drawing defensive attention. During the offseason, she’d also like to see Bessette work on her mid-range shot.
“I think the sky’s the limit with her,” Guth said. “She has the ultimate green light, as long as she’s putting in the reps and the time.”
In October, Guth said that each of the team’s first six conference games would be a “zinger” as Loyola Chicago faced the Atlantic 10’s preseason top five teams and Saint Louis, which was voted ninth. In those games, the Ramblers went 2-4, but since then have gone 5-0.
With seven games left in the regular season and the toughest part of their schedule behind them, Bessette’s goal for the rest of the season is simple: “I just wanna win.”