Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Their rally hats were on and making a difference in a solid second half, but the MacEwan Griffins women's basketball team ultimately dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of in an 89-63 loss to the Regina Cougars on Friday night.
Down 30-13 after one quarter when they stunningly gave up a 21-0 run, the Griffins began to fight back before going on another huge second-quarter slide (19-0) and trailed 53-20 at half-time.
"I think we were shocked at the beginning a little bit by the pace of play and the intensity by which they got to the rim," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams of how Regina shot 72.2 per cent from the field, including 80.0 per cent from beyond the arc, in the opening 10 minutes. "It took us a full quarter to sort of wake up.
"Their offensive attack and the pace at which they attacked really impacted us at the offensive end because we also tried to play faster, which enabled them to play faster. It got into a track meet a little bit and that's not where, particularly given our situation, we're going to have success right now."
That situation would be the most short-handed they've been all season. Due to injuries, the Griffins went with a lineup of only seven players in the contest.
Yet, valiantly, they defied logic and got better later in the game, outscoring the Cougars 43-36 in the second half.
"I'm incredibly proud of their efforts," said Adams, who had four players play 31 minutes or more, led by Mikah Reed's 35. "Everybody stepped up and found a way to contribute. The nice thing that comes with having such a small bench is you know you're going to get an opportunity.
"You can't dwell on mistakes, you have to find a way to fix it, and adapt and adjust immediately. I think that's something we did very well today. Everybody found their moment to shine and do what they do well."
W��| Shannon Majeau kicks off #SeniorWeekend with the opening basket against @ReginaCougarWBB as we're off and running at the David Atkinson Gym.
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 11, 2023
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Graduating senior Shannon Majeau – who is playing in the final weekend of her career – carried the Griffins in the first half and finished with a team-high 18 points and five rebounds. Fellow senior Mackenzie Farmer and second-year Julie Dueck added 11 points each.
Regina was led by a herculean effort from Julia Vydrova, who recorded 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Cougars' leading scorer Jade Belmore also filled the stats sheet with 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. Both Dayna Pearce and Maddy Seida chipped in 14 points apiece.
The teams will meet again on Saturday (6 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
For Adams, there is plenty to take out the loss moving forward, especially when it comes to the team's young players.
"Allie (Spenrath) started her first U SPORTS game today and I thought did a great job defensively and got some steals in the second half just trying to be disruptive and scrappy, which is what she does well," said Adams. "We found Mikah in the second half to hit a couple of shots, Julie (Dueck) went 3-for-3 from the three-point line today. We found her when she was open.
"Shannon really led the way inside for us and carried us in the first half when we were struggling a little bit. Just a very good effort from everybody today."
