Ã山ǿ¼é

By Earl Zukerman

MONTREAL – Nathifa Weekes, a 23-year-old senior from Brossard, Que., needs just 14 points to reach the 1,000-point plateau when the Ã山ǿ¼é Martlets open against Memorial University of Newfoundland at the Concordia-Reebok Invitational women's basketball tournament on Sunday.

Tip-off for the eight-team, three-day tourney is slated for 2 p.m. at the Loyola campus gymnasium, 7141Sherbrooke Street West.

Weekes, a 5-foot-7 guard who majors in social work, has scored 986 points in 98 career contests and is bidding to become the 18th player in Ã山ǿ¼é history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

One of those on hand to witness the event up-close-and-personal will be her 22-year-old sister, Shavern, who joined the Martlets last year. It marked only the second time in team history that siblings played during the same season. The only other time it happened with the Martlets was in 1994-95, when Mélanie and Geneviève Gagné suited up for Ã山ǿ¼é.

"Nathifa was thrust into the spotlight as a young player on our team, earning second-team all-Canadian honours during her sophomore year," says head coach Ryan Thorne, whose team is looking to improve on its 4-9 overall record.

"She has been playing hurt (with leg and arm injuries) for the past two seasons but still sets the tone for how we play, both in the offensive and defensive zones. She is one of our toughest athletes and her strength is in attacking the basket but we ask her to guard the other team's top player every game."

Weekes, a two-time all-star who was voted the conference’s defensive-player-of-the-year as a sophomore, has reached double digits in scoring 46 times over her four seasons. She had a break-out campaign in 2006-07, becoming the first player in team history to reach the century mark in a season for steals, rebounds and assists.

Aside from carrying a full academic course load while playing for the Martlets, she manages to find time for extensive community service. Weekes has served as a volunteer, providing food for the homeless, spending time at the Montreal Children’s hospital, the NDG Black Community Centre and the Trevor Williams Kid’s Foundation.