Win all four at Briercrest

The Cougar women’s basketball team entered Caronport Sask. on Friday riding a five-game winning streak to take on the Briercrest Clippers in the first of a two-game road trip - they departed Saturday as owners of a seven-game winning streak after taking both games from the home team.

The Cougars beat the Clippers 83-53 on Friday, and held their opponents to the second lowest scoring output of the ACAC season on Saturday with a 63-34 victory.

Star forward Jamie Morck led the way for the Cougars with 20 points and seven rebounds, and guard Emily Larson bounced back from a couple sub-par shooting efforts to finish with 19 points, going 7-of-13 from the field. Stephanie Loubardeas  had a strong game and finished with 15 points.

It was a very closely contested first half, and the Cougars entered the break with a slim three-point lead. That was as close as it would get, however, as the Clippers seemed completely out of sync in the second half, managing only 23 points over the final two quarters of play.

Leading the way for the Clippers was Valerie Robinson, who finished with 18 points.
The Cougar’s best defensive effort of the season came Saturday, as they held the hometown Clippers to single-digit scoring through the first three quarters of play.

Morck again led the way for the Cougars, logging another double-double by finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Celeste Clarke knocked down four three-pointers and filled up the stat sheet on her way to a 16 point, six rebound, five assist, four steal gem of a game, while Carrie Campbell added 14 points and five rebounds for the Cougars.

Last weekend the Cougars built up a 23-9 lead against The King’s University College Eagles, but had lapses in the third and fourth quarters before coming away with the victory.
This weekend there would be no lapses. The Cougars led 23-7 after the opening quarter, and would never trail. They led 37-12 at the half.

The Clippers played good defence in the second half and were only outscored 26-22, but the game was out of reach long before then.

The Cougars take their seven-game winning streak into next weekend’s matchup with the South division leading SAIT Trojans, who remain undefeated this season through 14 games. The two teams face off on Kenyon Court Friday night at 6:00 p.m.

Men
The Cougar men’s basketball team won twice on their two-game roadtrip, beating the Briercrest Clippers 87-74 on Friday and 99-78 the following evening.

Newcomer Jordan Hone has been making his presence felt since joining the Cougars in late December, and Friday night was his best game of the new year. Hone dropped 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three-point range.

Nick Loewen was two points shy of a double-double, finishing with eight points and 13 rebounds, and Ian Tomaszewski shot an efficient 6-of-7 from the floor to finish with 15 points and five boards. Point guard Cam Dodd continues to look more comfortable playing with Hone, and finished with 14 points and three steals.

The two teams battled hard in the first quarter and the Cougars led just 19-17 heading into the second frame.

The Cougars increased the lead to 13 at the end of the second quarter, with hard work and second chance scoring the distinct difference between the two teams.

The Cougars survived a Clippers third-quarter push that saw the lead shrink to seven points and came out and played an inspired fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

The Cougars had another strong performance Saturday, led by point guard Cam Dodd, whose aggression and willingness to take the ball to the hole paved the way for the victory.

Dodd finished with 20 points on just 3-of-9 shooting, but was 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Cougars finished 30-of-34 from the free throw line, which was essentially the difference in a game that saw the Clippers shoot 46 per cent from the field compared to the Cougars’ 38 per cent.

After being outscored 22-17 in the opening frame, the Cougars retaliated with a 30 point second quarter, led by Dodd and Trent Offereins, who also finished with 20 for the Cougars.

Dodd’s ability to penetrate really opened up the floor for the Cougars, who shot 40 per cent from behind the arc.

The Cougars again finished with more offensive rebounds than the Clippers, leading to 13 more shooting attempts from the field.

The Cougar men currently sit in second place in the South division with an 11-3 record, four points back of the leading Lethbridge Kodiaks.

The Cougars will face the SAIT Trojans in a home-and-home series next weekend, and will be on Kenyon Court Friday, Jan 28. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m.