Six straight means second place
Bisons on a roll with sweep of Cougars
Vuthana Suon Staff
With a 66-57 home win over the Regina Cougars on Saturday, Feb. 4, the Bison women’s basketball team has extended their longest win streak of the season to six games and, in doing so, has claimed second place in the Great Plains division.
After a 71-51 rout on Friday, the Cougars were chomping at the bit to exact revenge.
Saturday’s game was close for much of the first half, with both teams trading shots. However, the herd began to pull away thanks to a number of key plays, which included forcing nine Cougar turnovers, en route to a 9-2 run to close out the half at 39-28. Fifth-year Bison guard Sopear Chhin led the way with 12 first-half points, while third-year Bison guard Rachel Hart provided the play of the game with a crossover that absolutely shook her defender, before making an acrobatic shot to get the hoop and the harm.
“The team was really excited [about the crossover] . . . it kinda just happened so fast, so hopefully it looked good,” laughed Hart. “That 9-2 run was definitely the turning point of the game.”
The second half was a continuation of the first, with the Bisons holding off the Cougar attack long enough to pull out the victory. Hart scored a game-high 16 points on 6 of 15 shooting and collected 9 rebounds, while Lara Schmidt led the Cougars with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
According to Bison head coach Pam Danis, one of the keys to the game was the ability of the brown and gold to limit the Cougars’ half-court offence. By establishing a press against the Cougars’ ball handlers, the Bisons were able to force two 10-second violations and a number of bad passes. The Bison defence thus disrupted Regina’s offensive rhythm and dictated the flow of the game.
“I think our defence has definitely stepped up, and it’s also been a total team effort; every night a different player has stepped up for us,” said Danis. “These wins are really important for us in terms of playoffs, because it determines if we play at home or not.”
Rivalries are renewed on Feb. 9 at the Investor’s Group Athletic Centre and Feb. 11 at the Duckworth as the Bisons take on the Winnipeg Wesmen in the basketball portion of the annual Duckworth Challenge to close out their regular season schedule.
