The Bisons women’s basketball team played against the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary, Alberta on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9. The herd lost the first game 86-60 but won the second game 67-58.

The Cougars won the first game thanks to building an early lead and pulling away late.​ The game started with Asha Donnelly getting a quick 3-0 lead for the Cougars, which was quickly answered by Bisons’ Kyu Fust’s three-pointer to tie it at 3-3. Donnelly and Nora Luca added jumpers to push the Cougars ahead to 12-5, while the herd tried to catch up. The Cougars were able to push the lead to 27-14 by the end.

The Bisons opened the second quarter with Fust’s jumper to make 27-16, but the Cougars kept on coming and, with a jump shot from Luca, they were 30-18. In this quarter, the herd struggled heavily with free throws, getting FTM-A of 42.9 per cent, missing huge opportunities to close the distance. However, there was improvement in defence from the previous quarter. The second quarter ended 48-29.

The Cougars kept the pressure on early in the third quarter with Donnelly’s layup for a 50-29 lead, but the Bisons found wind in their sails. The herd went on to score 23 points in this quarter whilst only conceding eight. This reduced the huge gap to 56-52.

The herd lost their momentum in the fourth quarter and only scored eight points whilst the Cougars scored 30 points, leading to an 86-60 victory for the Cougars. In this game, the herd struggled with rebounding and turnovers and allowed the opponent team to dominate.

In the second game, the Bisons grabbed a 67-58 victory over the Cougars. The herd led narrowly after one quarter and held off the Cougars’ push to even the series.​ The Bisons’ Taylor Schepp opened with a jumper for a 2-0 lead, but the Cougars’ Jenessa Ramsoomair tied it quickly with a tip-in. Darya Rom scored six points, giving the edge for a 17-16 lead for the herd.​

In the second quarter, both teams were almost equal in terms of scoring, 14 by the Cougars and 15 by the herd. However, the Cougars showed significant advantage in being able to convert free throws into points with FTM-A of 75 per cent. The score was 32-30 at halftime.​

The Bisons started the third quarter with Anna Miko’s layup for 34-30.  Both teams in this quarter were also close in terms of scoring, 13 by the Cougars and 12 by the herd. The score was extremely close, 44-43.

The Bisons dominated the fourth quarter by scoring 23 points, creating a massive gap in the final quarter to win the game 67-58. In the second game, the Cougars struggled and were hurt by poor second-half execution after trailing narrowly.​

In the first game, Luca stood out as the Cougars’ star player with 19 points and 7 rebounds, driving key scoring runs, while the Bisons’ Fust (14 points) and Miko (12 points) were the top standouts. In the second game, Rom emerged as the herd’s star player coming off the bench to score 20 points, while Paige Schatkowsky (12 points) and Schepp (9 points) also made immense contributions to the Bisons.

The Bisons women’s basketball team will next play against the University of Alberta Pandas on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. CT and Saturday, Jan. 17 at 6 p.m. CT in Edmonton, Alberta.