U of S hoopsters begin quest for Bronze Baby
Peaking and playing their best basketball in recent weeks, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies start their quest for a Bronze Baby on Friday.
Saskatchewan (No. 3 seed) plays the Queen’s Golden Gaels (No. 6 seed, OUA finalists) in Canadian Interuniversity Sport Final 8 women’s basketball action Friday afternoon in Windsor, Ont.
Game-time is 1 p.m. (Saskatchewan time).
The Huskies will also be joined in their quest for the CIS banner by the host Windsor Lancers ( OUA champs), No. 2 seed Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champs), No. 4 McGill Martlets (Quebec champs), No. 5 Fraser Valley Cascades (Canada West finalists), No. 7 Alberta Pandas (Canada West bronze medallists) and No. 8 Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (OUA bronze medallists).
Windsor (33-1 against CIS teams this season) heads into the competition as No. 1 seed for the second straight season and for the third time in four years. The Lancers beat Saskatchewan in front of a packed house in the 2011 final to become the first team in history to hoist the Bronze Baby on home court. They have since added titles in Calgary two years ago and in Regina last winter.
Saskatchewan spent most of the regular season in the shadow of Alberta (20-2) and Regina (20-2) in the Canada West Prairie Division, finishing third with a solid 17-5 record. The Huskies upset Regina in the semifinals before defeating Fraser Valley 67-56 for the Canada West banner.
“I AM VERY PLEASED WITH THE PROGRESS OUR RELATIVELY YOUNG TEAM HAS MADE OVER THE COURSE OF THE SEASON,” DAVE WILSON
REMATCH WITH QUEEN’S
Queen’s (16-6 in OUA, 25-11 overall) returns to the national championship for the first time since 2003 and only third time in program history.
Queen’s is ranked 11th in the CIS defensively and 17th offensively.
“I am very pleased with the progress our relatively young team has made over the course of the season,” coach Dave Wilson says
The Gaels, who earned an overtime win over Carleton in the OUA East final, will have to play better than they did Oct. 18 when they were dominated 68-33 by the Huskies at the Ryerson Invitational.
“They were missing their point guard and a lot of things have changed since then so we don’t put a whole lot of stock in that result,” says U of S coach Lisa Thomaidis, “but it’s nice to have played them at least once.”
DEFENCE-ORIENTED
Saskatchewan reached the lone CIS final in program history at Windsor back in 2011.
The Huskies are led by sixfoot-three post and Canada West player of year Dalyce Emmerson, who placed fourth in the country in scoring (19.2) and second in rebounds (11.6).
The Huskies are relying on team defence to get the job done.
“With some of the injuries we’ve had, we’re pretty undersized in the perimeter,” Thomaidis says.
“We’ve had to do some different things defensively. We’re playing a lot more zone than we ever have and that’s helping. It’s really keeping Dalyce close to the hoop and she’s cleaning up every defensive rebound. Our perimeters are quick and they can put pressure on the ball, and they can trust that somebody’s going to be behind them if they get blown by.
“I’m really pleased with our defence, That’s been the difference. We always harp on the fact that, if we’re going to win, we’re going to get energy from our defence and that’s been the case.”