The Bisons women’s basketball team played against the University of MacEwan Griffins at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Friday, Jan. 23 and won the first game 81-72. Again, in the rematch on Saturday, Jan. 24, the Bisons won 75-48.
In the first quarter of game one, the herd got the first bucket with a layup by Anna Miko and made it 2-0. However, the Griffins soon pushed the score to 4-12. But the herd did not sit idle. Miko scored 10 more points and the first quarter ended with the herd trailing 19-20.
In the second quarter, the two teams were equally matched in execution if not in play style. Both teams scored 22 points in this quarter. Toni Gordon single-handedly scored 15 of those points for the Griffins. It was 41-42 by the end of the quarter.
Post-halftime, the Bisons showed better offensive flow with smoother ball movement, which allowed the herd to break through the Griffins’ defence. Taylor Schepp scored nine points for the herd in this quarter. Unity Obasuyi for the Griffins put on a spectacular performance with three assists and six points, which led to being heavily guarded by the herd. The quarter ended with the Bisons leading 62-59. The game remained very tight.
In the last quarter, the Griffins were no longer able to keep up with the Bisons. The herd had 19 points while the Griffins scored 13. Miko and Schepp contributed massively to the herd’s offence by scoring 10 and eight points in this quarter. When the buzzer went off, the Bisons had won the game 81-72.
Throughout the Friday game, four players carried the bulk of the scoring load for both sides. For the herd, Miko led all scorers with 28 points, while Schepp added 22 points. On the Griffins’ side, Gordon topped her team with 21 points and Obasuyi followed with 18 points.
The top seven teams from the Prairie Division will be making their way to the playoffs. As of Jan. 25, 10 a.m., CT, the Bisons are ranked seventh.
On the importance of late season wins for playoff positioning in the Canada West Prairie standings, the Bisons head coach Michele Sung said, “We [have to] knock off some wins here, but we’ve just been really trying to get them to look at it one game at a time. It’s one opportunity at a time. [We] can’t look ahead if we don’t take care of what’s in front.”
On the increased physicality and fouls after halftime, particularly in the fourth quarter, Sung noted there were no injuries. “I think [there were] some awkward contact pieces for both teams. So I think that played into it for sure. I thought it might have been the quickest first quarter, and then it kind of settled into a little bit more.”
When asked what changed after a tight halftime, the coach credited the Griffins’ shooting early on. “The [Griffins] shot the ball really, really well today. And I thought it took us a bit of time to really get into that game intensity that we know we need to play with to be able to win basketball games.”
On the impact of Miko and Schepp, Sung praised their execution. “We’re trying to instill this mentality [that] we need at least […] three, four players to be in double digits, so it’s always nice when two do and I think they handled the game plan really well.”
The Bisons women’s basketball team will next face the University of Winnipeg Wesmen as a part of Duckworth Challenge on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. CT at the Investors Groups Athletic Centre. The Bisons last played against the Wesmen on Dec. 5, where the herd won 73-71.
