It was a basketball filled weekend as the Bisons Invitational Tournament took place for the women’s basketball team, and the men played two games at the Pembina Chrysler Invitational Tournament. Out of all five games played by the Bisons, only one was won.
The women’s team opened the tournament with a game against Toronto. In this non-conference match-up, the Bisons were defeated 71-63. Toronto’s Nicki Schutz accumulated a total of 28 points towards securing her team’s win, and the Bisons’ Muba Ilelaboye brought the home team 16 points.
After the Huskies beat the Wesmen 61-44 on Friday night, it was the Bisons’ turn to play the Wesmen on Saturday. In a very close game that saw both teams constantly battling for the lead, the final score was 62-58 for the Winnipeg Wesmen. The Wesmen’s Amy Ogidan had 19 points and Bison Lauren Mortier had the team high of 18 points in the game. This was also the Bisons’ Pack the Place Pink Night and the team was an impressive sight in their pink uniforms that are to be auctioned off to raise money for breast cancer research. Last year, the CIS Women’s Basketball Coaches Association raised $81,512.96 for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.
Saskatchewan, after meeting the Bisons on Sunday, proved unbeatable the entire tournament. Bisons Michelle Hynes and Kait Flett each led their team in scoring with 16 points apiece, but it was the Huskies’ lead scorer Lindsay Degroot who scored an impressive 33 points towards the final Husky win of 76-65.
The final game of the women’s Bison Invitational Tournament had the Wesmen playing Toronto. This game had fans on the edge of their seats as the teams battled for the final win in a consistently close game. In the end, Winnipeg narrowly beat Toronto 68-67.
It was the men’s basketball team, with new head coach Kirby Schepp, that got the one basketball win for the Bisons over the weekend. On Friday night of the Pembina Chrysler Invitational Tournament the Bisons lost their game to Concordia with a score of 86-74. The team did manage to secure a victory in their Saturday game against Laurentian. The Bisons’ Sean Maxwell accumulated a remarkable 29 points and his teammate Nathan Dixon was close behind with a total of 24 points. The Bison men’s basketball team starts their Canada West season next weekend in Brandon on Oct. 30 and 31.
