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Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Cydney Auzenne, MSU-Northern Basketball

Cyd really has done it all at Northern

Skylight Cydney Auzenne has accomplished the rare feat of playing two sports in college. And she's done both at a high level

Montana State University-Northern senior Cydney Auzenne has already gone though an emotional senior night in the Armory Gymnasium. But, she's about to do it again.

That's because Auzenne is a unique athlete at Northern. Originally recruited to play volleyball four years ago, Auzenne has also been playing basketball for the Skylights for just as long.

And while two-sport athletes aren't rare, what Auzenne has done at Northern is. She's played two NAIA sports, for four years and at an elite level. That is rare indeed.

"I was undecided on what I wanted to do in college," Auzenne said back when she was a senior in high school in Regina Beach, Saskatchewan. "When Coach Bill (Huebsch) offered me, he also told me he would talk to Coach (Chris) Mouat about me playing basketball here, too, and he watched some film on me and talked to me, and said he would give me that opportunity. So, the chance to play both sports is what brought me to Northern."

And Northern is sure glad Auzenne came. She was a steady outside hitter for Huebsch and the Skylights, and then, she'd transition to basketball, where, she's averaged nearly 10 points per game for her career, while earning Frontier All-Conference honors last season. She's also been a part of three straight Skylight teams that have went to the NAIA national tournament, and is about to go for a fourth time.

And while playing both sports at the collegiate level seems hard, especially physically, as Auzenne attended both volleyball and basketball practices when the two seasons overlapped, she said, the challenges were much more mental.

"It hasn't been easy, but from a physical standpoint, it was probably also not as hard as people might think," Auzenne said. "The last two years, I've really pushed myself. I would go straight from volleyball practice down to the locker room, change into my basketball stuff and go right back up for practice. I'd do that as often as I could.

"Mentally, though, it could be tough at times," she added. "Being in class all day, and focused on that, then having to focus on volleyball, and basketball, it can be tough at times. But I'm glad I've done it. I've loved it all."

And technically, Auzenne could have done it for another year. Eligibility-wise, she's only a junior, but she's about to graduate with a degree in Health Promotion. So, her volleyball career came to an end in November, and her basketball career is winding down, too.

"I'm gonna hang up both pairs of shoes," Auzenne said.

She will hang them up. But not before she makes one more postseason run with the Skylights, who play their final two home games of the regular season Friday and Saturday nights in the Armory. Then, it's off to the postseason, something Auzenne also knows a thing or two about.

"When I came here I didn't know a lot about the NAIA, or how things worked," she said. "But when I was a redshirt freshman, we made it to the national tournament, and I got to experience that. And then I got to play in the last two. It's just been amazing going there the last three years, and it's like, once you get a taste of it, you want to do it again. And that's been our goal, to go back again. We work hard for that, and we won't settle for anything less."

First, however, comes Saturday night, when Auzenne and her fellow seniors will be honored. But before that night comes, we caught up with the sensational two-sport Skylight for five more questions.

HDN: I have to ask. Volleyball or basketball? Which is your favorite sport?

Auzenne: "Since day one, I just loved to play basketball. I never took volleyball that seriously in high school, until I made a club team that went to China my senior year. That's when I realized I could play volleyball in college. And in most of Canada, volleyball is huge, but, in my area, basketball was big. Volleyball was big there, too, but so was basketball, and I just grew up focusing more on basketball. But I really do love both sports."

HDN: When you got to Northern, did you foresee being able to have the success you've had in both sports?

Auzenne: "Not in the beginning. I think what I'm most impressed with myself about all this is so many people told me I couldn't do this at the college level. They said I would burn out, or my body would break down, or I wouldn't be able to handle school and two sports. That really motivated. It made me work hard. I really pushed and challenged myself, and I'm pretty proud of the fact that I've done it. I stuck it out. And I've loved every minute of it. I've loved doing both sports, and I wouldn't have changed a thing."

HDN: How much did it mean to you to get All-Conference in basketball?

Auzenne: "I was shocked. That's something I never even considered. There are so many great players in the Frontier Conference. We have so many great players on this team. So I never gave that a thought really. So I was really excited. I never imagined that would happen."

HDN: Your nickname is Shug. Even Coach (Mouat) calls you that. How did that come about?

Auzenne: "It's short for Sugar. I've had that nickname since I was a baby. I had family who called me that, and it eventually got shortened."

HDN: You get to go through senior night for a second time in one year. What are you going to be feeling Saturday night?

Auzenne: "This one is going to be tough. I have a real bond with Nat (Natalee Faupel) and Molly (Kreycik) because we came to Northern together. We've been together since day one. And Sierra (Richards), she's right there, too. She fit in so well it feels like we've been together with her for four years, too. So this group, we have a real closeness because we've been through so much together. The volleyball girls, I love them to death, too. They are great girls, great friends. But Nat and Molly and I have been together since the first day of school our freshman year. So it's going to be an emotional night for sure. It's gonna be emotional for me, for all of our seniors and for my parents because they've been right by my side since day one. It's just going to be really tough."

 

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