On Saturday, the Bison women’s basketball team won their first game of the season and defeated the Thompson Rivers Wolf Pack 70-53. With the win, Manitoba improved to 1-3, and the Wolf Pack fell to 1-3 in early Canada West division play. This was the herd’s first conference win since January 23, 2016 in Lethbridge, and their first home victory since November 29, 2014 when they again defeated Lethbridge 70-64.
The Manitoba win was due to an executed game plan and holding their first half lead, which they failed to do in their game on Friday.
“I thought we executed our game plan tonight” Bisons head coach Michele Sung said post-game. “We really focused on the third quarter, still had a little bit of a lull, but were excited about it.”
This was a huge win for the Bisons, as it was their first home win in almost two seasons.
“It’s huge” said Sung. “Our girls play a lot in this gym, and work hard in this gym. It’s nice for them to beable to share that with their family and friends.”
Nicole Konieczny led the herd with 16 points, and the Wolf Pack were led by Shenise Sigsworth who also netted 16.
Both teams got off to a slow start, as the Wolf Pack shot just under 12% from the field. The Bisons took advantage of the visitors missed shots after a slow start of their own. The herd ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run, taking a 14-6 lead into the second frame. The two teams played a fairly even second quarter, with the home team taking a 31-20 lead into halftime.
The Bisons were able to spread the ball around in the first half, with Keziah Brothers leading the team with seven points, and Emma Thompson, Rebecca Potter, and Konieczny all with 6 points. The Wolf Pack were led by Emily Vilac who scored a game-high eight points for Thompson Rivers. Thompson and Potter came up big on the boards as well, each with five rebounds for the herd.
The Bisons continued to shut it down in the second half, and took a 43-35 lead into the final quarter. Konieczny stole a pass and went all the way to the other end for a layup; which gave the herd momentum and allowed them to keep their lead. Thompson Rivers cut the lead down to three early in the fourth, but midway through the frame the herd went on a 15-0 run; they took a 62-43 lead with just under four minutes to play. Taylor Randall led the herd’s strong second half with 11 of her 15 points, and moved on to their first win of the season.
Manitoba will look for another win during the November 18-19 weekend, as they travel to Vancouver to take on the UBC Thunderbirds.
