Polischuk firing on all cylinders
Katie Polischuk has been on fire from the three-point line for the University of Regina Cougars women’s basketball team in recent weeks.
Asked Friday about her surge, Cougars head coach Dave Taylor basically shrugged.
“I don’t think she’s in a zone; this is how she shoots,” Taylor said after Polischuk went 3-for-3 from downtown in Regina’s 90-57 Canada West victory over the Calgary Dinos at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport.
“That’s why I recruited her. Talking to people in (Polischuk’s home province of) Ontario, they all said, ‘She’s THE shooter.’ I’m actually shocked when (her shots) don’t go in.”
Polischuk, a second-year player out of Brantford, Ont., has hit 10 of her last 17 three-point attempts over the Cougars’ past three games. She has hit at least one trey in each of the 14 regularseason games she has played this season, with a high of seven (in 11 attempts) on Nov. 29 against the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Polischuk is 37-for-91 from downtown this season and her .407 percentage would put her second in Canada West if she had played enough games to qualify for the statistics.
As well, her 37 threes would tie her for fifth in the conference — and she has played five fewer games than everyone above her on the list.
“As the season has gone on, I’ve gotten more consistent,” Polischuk said. “But I just shoot the ball. I don’t really think about the numbers that are going up. I just play and do what I can.”
Polischuk’s three-point shooting actually has improved because of her willingness to move from the arc.
Taylor noted the 6-foot-0 guard has added more variety to her game this season, with more drives and pull-up jumpers than in her rookie season.
Last season, she was 29-for109 from the field, with six of those baskets and 28 of those attempts coming from inside the arc. After Friday’s game, she’s 61-for-146 from the field this season, including 24-for55 from inside the arc.
“Dave told me last year and over the summer that one thing I had to work on was adding more to my game and not just strictly shooting the ball,” Polischuk said. “I really worked on that.
“I wanted to get more minutes and be able to do more for the team and I felt like that was my best way to do it.”
Polischuk was averaging 11.7 points per game through Regina’s first 10 games and had 10 points through 15 minutes of action during the Cougars’ game Jan. 9 against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
But her night against TRU ended early when she was knocked senseless on a layup attempt. After being diagnosed with a concussion, Polischuk couldn’t practise for 2 1/2 weeks — or do much else.
“I couldn’t be in the gym with the lights,” she said. “I couldn’t focus in class or concentrate, so I had to figure that stuff out on my own. It really made me take a step back.
“But ever since I’ve been able to do things without any symptoms, I’ve been pushing myself to get back to where I was. I worked hard over Christmas to be in shape and I didn’t want to lose a whole lot of that (after returning from the concussion), so I’ve been getting in the gym and doing extra stuff on my own.
“I still feel a step slower, but I’m getting myself back up to where I was and hopefully it’ll get there sooner than later.”
Polischuk’s 13 points Friday increased her average to 12.1 this season, second on the team to Nicole Clarke (17.6).
On Friday, Clarke, Alyssia Kajati and Charlotte Kot had 14 points apiece for the Cougars, who won their 13th straight game to improve to 17-2.
Tamara Jarrett had 13 to lead Calgary (11-8), which was outscored 23-9 in the third quarter and 23-13 in the fourth.
The teams are to play again today, 5 p.m., at the CKHS.