COUGARS ROMP

February 4, 2012 – In nature, the sound of an average thunderstorm can reach anywhere from 100-120 decibels, loud enough to hurt a person’s ears. On this particular evening, however, the roar of cougars, specifically the Mount Royal Cougars men’s and women’s basketball teams, easily drowned out the Concordia University Thunder.

COUGAR WOMEN

Lead by 18 points from second-year guard Danica Rybachuk, the Cougars women’s team rolled to an impressive 85-61 win over Concordia and in doing so, clinched first place in the ACAC’s south division. Mount Royal currently sits with a 14-3 record, good enough for a four-point lead over Lethbridge with only one game remaining on the regular season schedule.

The Cougars came out strong in the opening quarter, building up an early 12-3 advantage en route to a 17-point lead after the first quarter. That lead grew to 19 after the first half, with Mount Royal holding a 43-24 advantage.

“Concordia has been playing very, very good basketball as of late and to their credit, with only nine kids, they played real, real hard,” said Cougars head coach Joe Enevoldson. “We knew that we could dictate the tempo. We thought we could wear them out; in the second and third quarter I thought we really gassed them.”

In addition to Rybachuk, the Cougars had three more players reach double-digit in scoring on the night, Katie Pearson (12), Kari Youmans (11) and Carrie Campbell (10). An interesting fact to note is the Cougars received points from all of the 11 players who participated in the contest, a tribute to the team’s depth said Enevoldson.

“We used 10 players pretty liberally yesterday and tonight we got to 11. I just think we can keep rolling kids through and I really think that’s really going to help us down the stretch,” said Enevoldson. “And everybody contributes. If someone is having an off night, it is what it is and we can just put another person in their place.”

Overall on the night, the Cougars shot 36.5 percent from the floor, 34 percent on three-point attempts and 83 percent from the line. Concordia’s numbers were 33 percent, 43.5 percent and 58 percent respectively. The Thunder did out-rebound the Cougars 47-45.

Stephanie Balog led all scorers on the evening, netting 28 points for the Thunder, including eight buckets from beyond the three-point arc.

Next up for the Cougars is Feb. 17 when the squad will play in its final ever ACAC regular season contest when they host SAIT.

“It’s fitting. If we’re going to go out of the ACAC, who would you rather go out against,” said Enevoldson. “It’s a pride game. Anytime you play a cross-town rival, it’s a pride game.”

Game time is 6 p.m. at Kenyon Count.

COUGAR MEN

A night after suffering a 10-point loss to the Kings in Red Deer, the Cougars men’s team was looking to get back on track. Mission accomplished.

The men’s team also received points from every player in the line-up, including a team-high 21 from forward Nick Loewen, and cruised to a 95-68 win over Concordia. With the win, the Cougars improve to 14-3 and officially clinch first place in the ACAC south division and by virtue of that, will host the ACAC Championships March 2 and 3.

Down 6-4 early in the opening quarter, the Cougars would score on back-to-back three-point shots from Trent Offreins and Steve Trinidad to take a 10-6 lead. The quarter would remain close with Mount Royal holding a slim 22-16 lead after the opening 10 minutes. That advantage would grow after the second quarter with the Cougars taking a 43-32 lead into the half.

“I was happy with the way we bounced back. I don’t think we executed or played very well yesterday,” said Cougars head coach Marc Dobell. “It was a test to see how we could rebound and execute a day later and I think we did a pretty good job with that.”

After a relative close opening half, the Cougars exploded in the third quarter, outscoring Concordia 39-19 and taking an 82-51 lead into the final frame. Mount Royal utilized their fast break game and played at a much higher tempo than in the first 20 minutes.

“They were a short bench, so we wanted to make sure we pushed them and tire them out a little bit, make them work hard to move the ball up the floor and make sure they had to get back on defence quickly,” said Dobell.

In addition to Loewen’s 21 points, the Cougars also received double-digit contributions from Offreins (16), Trinidad (15) and Abraha (10). Loewen also chipped in with a team high six rebounds.

As a team, the Cougars shot 52 percent from the floor, 43.5 percent from beyond the tree-point arc and 79 percent from the line. Concordia shot 39 percent, 21 percent and 78 percent respectively. The Cougars also took the rebound battle by a 41-31 margin.

The Cougars will end their regular season on Feb. 17 when they host SAIT. It will not only be the last time the two rivals meet in the ACAC regular season, but the Cougars final ever ACAC regular season tilt.

Dobell is looking forward to the contest.

“I love it. It’s going to be said leaving the ACAC, but I’m glad we’re playing the last ever game in our conference on our floor versus SAIT. It’s a fitting way for Mount Royal to finish our career in the ACAC,” said Dobell.

Game time is 8 p.m. at Kenyon Court.