Big wins over Huskies

Cougar Women
One night after seeing their undefeated season come to a halt, losing 78-49 to the Grant MacEwan Griffins, the Mount Royal Cougars women’s basketball team had a chance to redeem themselves against Keyano College.

And boy did they ever.

The Cougars received double-digit scoring from six of their nine active players en route to an 80-39 drubbing of the visiting Huskies.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 7-1 and have a four-point lead on second place Medicine Hat and Lethbridge in the ACAC’s south division.

Mount Royal opened the game with a 7-0 run, including a long three-point shot from Katie Pearson, her first of two on the night. Despite the fast start, the Cougars actually found themselves down at the end of the opening quarter by a 13-10 score.

Mount Royal took control of the game early in the second quarter, going on a 10-1 run and only allowing the Huskies five points in the quarter while netting 20 of their own.

Mount Royal led 30-18 at the half.

“I know we’re a team full of character and for (the Cougars) to play a game like we did last night and turn around and play with a little more spirit and effort was fantastic. I wouldn’t expect anything less from this group,” said Mount Royal head coach Joe Enevoldson.

The Cougars opened the second half much the way they did the first, this time going on a 9-0 run and playing solid defense in the process. In fact, the team did not give not allow Keyano a field goal until nearly six minutes in the frame. Prior to that, the Huskies had scored three points in this quarter, all on free throws.

The Cougars had a number of uncontested baskets late in the third quarter and into the fourth, thanks largely to a fast break game where they caught Keyano out of position defensively.

“That’s the one thing we talked about after last night. We want to headman the basketball quicker and get it up the floor a lot faster. If we’re over-dribbling in the backcourt it stagnates everything for us,” said Enevoldson.

The Cougars received points from each of the nine players dressed for the game, including six with double digits. Leading the charge were Danica Rybachuk and Kari Youmans with 11 each.

Carrie Pickering, Emily Larson, Katie Pearson and Jessica Comfort each netted 10, while Kristen Docherty (eight), India Ashboth (four) and Evan Hudson (six) completed the scoring. Pickering also contributed a game-high 11 rebounds.

As a team, the Cougars shot a combined 36 for 73 from the field and 5 for 14 from the free throw line.

Next up for the Cougars is a game against the Red Deer Queens Nov. 25, 6 p.m. The game will be the last for the Cougars before the semester and holiday break.

Cougar Men
The Cougar men’s basketball team continued their strong play over the weekend with a pair of convincing wins.

After a 78-54 triumph over MacEwan Nov. 18, the Cougars completed their perfect home weekend with an impressive 96-76 win over Keyano.

The win improved Mount Royal’s record to 7-1 and a four point lead over Medicine Hat in the ACAC’s south division.

Like their counterparts on the women’s squad, the men’s team also received scoring from each of its 12 active players for the contest, including a game high 26 from fourth-year forward Nick Loewen.

The Cougars opened the game on a 5-0 run, but Keyano batted back with 11 straight points of their own. From there, both teams would go three-point hunting and quickly ran the score up to 23-20 in favour of the visitors after the opening quarter. The teams hit a combined 12 three-point shots in the first half alone.

“We take what’s available, and if that’s what their defense is giving us, then that’s what we’re going to look for,” said Cougars head coach Marc Dobell of the aerial show.

“I think we took advantage of spacing and lane match-ups in transition and took advantage where we could.”

The game’s pace, as fast as it was in the first quarter, seemed to increase into the second half, with both teams trying to work a fast-break game. At points, both squads would apply extra pressure in their defensive zones in the form of extra-man on man coverage, attempting to stifle the quick outlet pass and force turnovers.

The Cougars tried to adjust by slowing down the pace and controlling the ball and looking for an open man instead of constantly driving the net.

“I think we got sucked into their tempo a little bit in the second quarter and bit at the beginning for the fourth quarter as well. We have to a better job of dictating the tempo and dictating the way that we play,” said Dobell.

The Cougars took a seven point lead into the third quarter and at the end frame that lead grew to nine as Mount Royal outscored Keyano 25-23 in the third. The fourth and final frame was the Cougars strongest both offensively and defensively, outscoring the Huskies 27-16 to put the game out of reach.

The Cougars shot a combined 48 percent (36 for 75) from the floor and 61 percent (14 or 23) from the foul line.

In addition to Loewen’s 26 points, the Cougars also received double-digit contributions from Kyle Newman (14) and Kyle Wilson and Awet Abraha with 10 each. Mangk Akwl lead the squad with eight rebounds on the night.

The Cougars round out their 2011 home schedule on Nov. 25 when the host the 4-4 Red Deer College Kings. Game time is 8 p.m.