CIS women's basketball Friday roundup: Cougars take lead in quarterfinal series with big win over Winnipeg

SASKATOON - A strong second half fueled the No. 3 University of Saskatchewan Huskies past the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack 66-59 in Canada West best-of-three quarter-final series Friday night at the PAC in Saskatoon.

Trailing 33-28 at the halftime break and by as many as nine points in the third quarter, the Huskies clawed their way back.  A three-pointer from Amy Lackie with four minutes left in the game gave the Huskies a 59-55 lead and they never looked back.

The win gives the Huskies a 1-0 lead in the series. The winner of the series will move on to the Canada West Final Four next weekend.

A quartet of Huskies finished with double digit point totals to lead Saskatchewan offensively.  Fifth-year guard Amy Lackie finished with a team-high 13 points followed by first-year forward Dalyce Emmerson with 11 points.  Third-year guard Kiera Lyons and fifth-year guard Katie Miyazaki both finished with 10 points.  Miyazaki also finished with a double-double snatching 13 rebounds.

The Wolfpack were led down low by fourth-year forward Diane Schuetze who finished with a double-double scoring 14 points and collecting 10 rebounds.  She was supported by fifth-year guard Kaitlyn Widsten and fourth-year forward Tracy Kocs ,who finished with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Saskatchewan was strong on the boards throughout the game outrebounding TRU 40-32 overall and 7-1 on the offensive glass. The Huskies discipline also played a key role as they committed just 10 fouls in the game and giving the Wolfpack just eight foul shots.  Conversely TRU committed 21 fouls and the Huskies were able to capitalize from the foul line going 20-29.

Game 2 is Saturday night at 6:15 p.m. at the PAC.  Game 3, if necessary, will be Sunday at 6:15 p.m.

Source: Saskatchewan Sports Info

REGINA - The University of Regina's women's basketball team took a 1-0 lead over Winnipeg in a best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal series after a 93-52 win over the Wesmen on Friday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Lindsay Ledingham led the Cougars with 15 points, while Joanna Zalesiak and Alyssia Kajati both scored 14. Kajati also added 10 rebounds – six of which came on the offensive glass – to record the game's lone double-double.

“We talked at halftime about taking care of every possession and I thought that was our most consistent defensive game of the year,” Cougars head coach Dave Taylor said. “We shot the ball very well in the first half and built up enough of a lead that our defence could close it out for us.”

Shooting the ball well early might have been an understatement from Taylor, as the Cougars hit six of their first eight attempts from three-point land and scored 32 points in the first 10 minutes. Zalesiak had 13 points in that first quarter alone.

Regina led by 20 at the half, then put the game away after the break by holding Winnipeg to just seven points in the third quarter. The Cougars held a massive 56-32 rebounding edge during the contest, outscored Winnipeg 40-18 in the paint, and scored 19 second-chance points. Regina also shot 47% from the field compared to 27% for the Wesmen.

Winnipeg's Alyssa Grant tied Ledingham for the game high with 15 points, while Amy Ogidan added 14 for the Wesmen. Ogidan also pulled down a team-leading six rebounds.

The two teams will play on Saturday night in Game 2 of the quarterfinal series. A win by the No. 1-ranked Cougars gives them a two-game sweep and the right to host the Canada West Final Four next weekend at the CKHS.

NOTES: Regina has now defeated Winnipeg in six consecutive postseason games and holds a 16-11 edge over the Wesmen in the all-time playoff series between the two teams.

Source: Regina Sports Info

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s basketball team defeated the University of Calgary Dinos, 85-67, to win the Canada West quarterfinal best two out of three series two straight.  The Cascades will now move onto the Canada West “Final Four” tournament at the home of the highest seed remaining after this weekend’s quarterfinals are complete.  This marks the second straight year UFV has swept through the Canada West quarterfinals and marks the first series win at home, in the Envision Athletic Centre.  The Cascades regular and post season record now improves to 14-6.  While the Dinos are eliminated from the Canada West tournament they are not done playing this season, as hosts of the 2012 CIS national championship tournament, they receive an automatic bid to play in the eight team event, the weekend of March 16 to 18. 

Tonight’s game had the exact script as last nights with the Dinos coming out strong establishing a quick lead and holding onto a five point advantage after the first quarter.  As the second quarter started UFV’s defense starting to click holding Calgary to 12 second quarter points as they would outscored the Dinos by 11 to go into the intermission with a six point lead.  Sarah Wierks, Chilliwack, BC led the Cascades with 8 points and 4 rebounds at the break.

The second half belonged to UFV as they pulled away in the third quarter with excellent shots, strong rebounding and holding Calgary to 17 points.  The Cascades led by 22 points after the third quarter and held Calgary in check in the final quarter to win by a comfortable 18 point margin.  UFV swept the two game series by a point differential of 38 points, surpassing the 23 point differential in last year’s sweep of Winnipeg. 

The Cascades were led by Tessa Klassen, Winnipeg, Manitoba with 21 points, team leading 6 boards and 5 assists. The fifth year veteran said goodbye to the UFV faithful with a monster of a game.  Sarah Wierks added 15 points and 6 boards, while Aieisha Luyken, Mission, BC and Nicole Wierks, Chilliwack, BC scored 13 points each.  The Cascades out rebounded the Dinos 40 to 32 for the game. 

The Dinos were led by Jessica Franz, Surrey, BC with 15 points.  Tamara Jarrett, Calgary, AB and Megan Lang, Calgary, AB each scored 13 points in the loss to UFV.  Jenna Kaye, Sackville, NB led the Dinos with 8 boards.       

Source: UFV Sports Info