MacEwan Athletics and Regina Athletics
REGINA – Going as ice cold as it's nearly possible to do, the MacEwan Griffins shot just 6.9 per cent in the second half on Friday in Regina.
Netting just nine points in the final 20 minutes, they were blown out by the University of Regina Cougars 67-33 in Canada West women's basketball action.
What makes the lopsided defeat even tougher to take, though, is the fact the Griffins led 22-17 with 3:41 left in the first half and were throwing a scare into the nationally-ranked Cougars.
Suddenly, the wheels came off in spectacular fashion as Regina outscored MacEwan 50-11 in the final 23:41.
"I thought we came out hard ready to play and compete today and played probably a solid 17 minutes in the first half," said MacEwan head coach Katherine Adams. "The last three minutes, we just let up a little bit and Regina gained some momentum. They carried that forward to the second half."
Using a full-court press to open the third quarter, the Cougars went on an 18-3 run and never looked back.
"It just put us on our heels," said Adams. "We turned the ball over five times in the first half and 14 in the second, so that obviously played a factor. We just hit the panic button a little bit. It was maybe unnecessary, but that's what it's designed to do. We turn it over, they gain momentum and now you're down 10 and the dynamics change."
Then the cold shooting took over. MacEwan went a ghastly 2-for-31 from the field in the second half.
"It's that vicious cycle of not shooting the ball really well – shots don't drop, and you start to panic a little bit because you start to feel like you're working so hard and not getting rewarded for it," said Adams. "Credit to Regina's defence. They took us out of rhythm and forced us into some tough shots. They'd get possession back and were able to generate some good opportunities in transition. That was what turned the tables in the second half for us today."
Kyanna Giles, Faith Reid, and Carolina Goncalves provided the majority of the offence for the Cougars. Giles and Reid both had a game-high 14 points, while Goncalves scored 13. As usual, most of Reid's production was from downtown as the second-year guard was 4-for-7 from three-point range.
Giles added 12 rebounds for a double-double, helping Regina to a 54-46 advantage on the glass in the win. The victory makes it five straight for the Cougars, who are now 7-2 in Canada West play this season.
Mackenzie Farmer and Shannon Majeau both had 10 points to lead MacEwan, which falls to 4-7 with the setback.
The two teams will finish off the weekend series on Saturday night (5 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).
