Bison Briefs
ROMER BAUTISTA STAFF
PHOTO: DAVID IAN LIPNOWSKI
Women’s hockey: Corfield comes up big as Bisons advance to Canada West Finals
After dropping game one of their best-of-three Canada West semi-final against the Regina Cougars, the Bisons women’s hockey team rallied back to win the next two games, and in doing so, advanced to the Canada West finals.
On Feb. 23, the Cougars offence was too much for the Bisons, as they took home a 6-2 victory.
Despite the tough game, head coach Jon Rempel decided to stick with netminder Stacey Corfield for games two and three. That decision paid dividends, as Corfield turned away 25 of 27 shots in game two on Feb. 24. The Bisons received goals from Leanne Kisil, Amanda Schnell, and Katherine O’Rourke, giving them the 3-2 win.
With momentum on their side, the Bisons came out for game three on Feb. 25 on fire. After a scoreless first period, the Bisons offence got going in the second frame. Sarah Stebeleski scored one minute into the period, and Danielle Fouillard and Kisil added power-play markers later in the period to give the Bisons a three-goal edge heading into the third.
From then on, it was all Corfield. The Bison keeper turned away all 28 shots she faced for the shutout win. Stebeleski added two more goals for a hat trick, as the Bisons won the deciding game 5-0.
The win advances the Bisons to the Canada West finals, where they will play the No. 3-ranked Alberta Golden Pandas for a best-of-three series beginning Mar. 2. Also, by getting to the Canada West finals, the Bisons have clinched a spot in the CIS Championships, which will be held in Ottawa from Mar. 16-19.
Women’s basketball: Wesmen out-duel Bisons to advance to final four
The Bisons women’s basketball team’s effort came up just short over the weekend, as they dropped their best-of-three Great Plains Division finals series to the Winnipeg Wesmen 2-1.
The Bisons fell behind early in game one on Feb. 22, and simply could not recover from the deficit. The Wesmen’s Uzo Asagwara paced the home squad with a game-high 28 points, as the Wesmen cruised to a 68-50 win. The Bisons high-scorer was Tessa Klassen, with 12 points.
The Bisons were able to even the series on Feb. 23, picking up a 80-63 victory. The team’s offence was running much smoother, as three Bisons were able to score in double figures. Leading the team was Sarah Holder, who had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, the Bisons made the same mistakes in game three on Feb. 24 as they did in game one, namely falling behind early and letting Asagwara get going. Asagwara’s 26 points were enough to overcome Holder’s terrific 28-point, 15-rebound output and the Bisons fourth-quarter comeback attempt, giving the Wesmen a 80-73 win.
With the loss, the Bisons season comes to an end. The team finished with a 17-10 record.
Swimming: Bison women finish in top-10 at CIS nationals
The Bisons swim team sent eight athletes (six female, two male) to the 2007 CIS Swimming Championships in Halifax, N.S. from Feb. 22-24. By the end of the event, the women’s team swam to an eighth-place finish, while the men’s team swam to a very respectable 18th place.
Julianne Toogood led the Bisons with three top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place showing in the women’s 100-metre freestyle, and two ninth-place finishes, in the women’s 100-metre backstroke and 50-metre freestyle.
Second-year swimmer Landice Yestrau also had three top-10 finishes. She finished in seventh in the women’s 50-metre backstroke, sixth in the women’s 100-metre backstroke, and seventh again in the women’s 200-metre backstroke.
Also placing in the top-10 for the Bisons were Jennifer Toogood (sixth, women’s 50-metre freestyle), Braden Taylor (eighth, men’s 200-metre breaststroke), and the women’s 4x100-metre medley relay team (ninth).
Track and Field: Labbe honoured as Canada West’s top rookie
By winning the men’s long-jump event at the 2007 Canada West Track and Field Championships, the Bisons’ Nathan Labbe was honoured as the conference’s top male rookie.
Labbe jumped season-best 7.26-metres in his sixth and final jump of the day to win the event.
