Playoff matchup includes sister act
The competition will be fierce when Pearce meets Pearce.
A looming Canada West women’s basketball quarter-final between the University of Regina Cougars and UBC Thunderbirds will include the Pearce sisters — Avery, 21, and Dayna, 19.
Dayna is a first-year guard with the Thunderbirds, who are to oppose the Cougars on Thursday, Friday and, if necessary, Saturday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport. Each game is slated for 7 p.m.
Avery is a third-year member of the Cougars, who are the host team for the series by virtue of having finished first in the conference.
“I’m very excited,” Avery says. “It’s going to be fun playing against her but, more than that, I’m excited for her to come home and to be able to see her.”
The Pearce sisters, whose family lives on an acreage between Regina and Lumsden, are graduates of the Lumsden Angels high school program. They had never played against one another until Dec. 1, when the Cougars visited Vancouver for a two-game set.
“It was kind of funny,” Dayna recalls. “We were both at the scorer’s table at the same time, waiting to go in. We actually were sitting there talking to each other the whole time.”
And what was that like?
“Very weird,” Avery says with a chuckle. “I’m still not sure how I feel about it. It was funny. Even before that game in B.C., it was a different dynamic.”
Dayna is looking forward to playing in Regina for the first time as a collegian.
“I’m really excited because my family will be able to come and watch us play, and it will be great to play at the U of R,” she says. “I grew up playing there so it will be nice to be on that court again.”