Working the boards
UPEI women’s basketball squad wants to limit Huskies second chances, men’s squad seeks consistency
The UPEI Panthers have to do a good job cleaning up the glass to be successful this weekend.
The Panthers host the Saint Mary’s Huskies for a pair of Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women’s basketball games today and Saturday at 6 p.m. It will be the team’s first home games of 2018.
“If we let them get to the offensive boards consistently, it’s going to be a tough night for us,” UPEI bench boss Greg Gould said.
The Huskies are the second best offensive rebounding team in the eight-team conference at 13.6 per game while the Panthers are the second worsh defensive rebounding squad at 26.6. The Huskies top offensive rebounders are Shanieka Wood (3.5), Kennisha-Shanice Luberisse (3) and Katrina Murrell (2.5).
UPEI will rely on a group effort to clean up the glass, led by Carolina Del Santo, Jane McLaughlin and Karla Yepez.
Saint Mary’s (5-3) is six points up on UPEI (3-5) with both the weekend games worth two points in the conference’s unbalanced scheduled where some games are worth four points.
The Panthers split with the Huskies in Halifax on the opening weekend of the season, losing 60-52 and winning 58-46.
“They’re always tough, they defend well and they’ve got some kids that can shoot the ball,” Gould said.
It includes Cornwall native Jada Yeo, who starred with the Chris Annett-coached Colonel Gray Colonels squads. She will be meeting former teammates Jenna Mae Ellsworth and Victoria Barbour for the first time in university play.
“It doesn’t even really come up,” Gould said when asked about the former teammates playing against each other. “We scouted her and treat her just like everybody else. Jada is a good three-point shooter and she’s playing a lot of minutes for Saint Mary’s.”
Men’s
The Panthers men’s team is seeking to put a complete game together as it searches for its first win of the season.
“We’re playing better basketball for longer periods of time,” first-year Panthers head coach Darrell Glenn said Thursday. “Instead of (being bad for) six minutes it’s three minutes, but it’s still the difference between winning and losing games.”
UPEI (0-8) plays the Huskies (4-4) tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. The Huskies have half of their wins against the Panthers from the opening weekend of the season.
Glenn is looking for his team to remain focused and limit the Huskies from scoring easy baskets.
Part of the issue is the Panthers are a young team where guys are learning new roles and how to be leaders. They are doing that while learning a new system and did it without their centre, D’Adrian Allen, for all but two games of the season.
Glenn is looking for good weekends from Milorad Sedlarevic, Samy Mohamed, Allen and point guard Amin Suleman, who is the team’s floor general responsible for settling the team in its offence.
“He’s learning the offence for the first time as well,” he said. “We really don’t have that upper guy who’s been through this before that can help settle the waters.”
The hope is one good quarter turns into two good quarters and a good half rolls into a good game. Glenn said they are looking
to create some energy with a good start tonight.
“The support here has always been great. We’d love to be able to give our community a good showing this weekend.”