MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Paige Knull is MacEwan Athletics' first star of the week after leading the Griffins women's basketball team to a weekend sweep over the UNBC Timberwolves.
The fifth-year guard most notably stole the ball in the dying seconds of Saturday's tied game and scored the winning basket off a breakaway layup at the buzzer.
Other athletes recognized during the past week include second star Aidan Munro of the Griffins curling mixed team and third star Cassidy Kinsella of the women's volleyball team.
Both Knull and Munro are making their first appearances of the 2017-18 season on the Three Stars list, while Kinsella is being honoured for the second time after previously being named third star on Oct. 24.
1st STAR: Paige Knull, G, women's basketball (St. Albert, AB, fifth-year, Commerce)
With a steal and the game-winning layup at the buzzer on Saturday, Knull led the Griffins to a narrow 59-57 win over the visiting UNBC Timberwolves to complete a weekend sweep.
The heroic moment came after she spent the entire game stifling UNBC star Maria Mongomo with blanket defence. Just moments before the winning basket, she also drew a charging call against Mongomo that helped stem the T'Wolves' furious rally.
With her defensive assignment at the forefront of her weekend duties, Knull's numbers weren't as high as they usually are this season, but she managed seven points, eight rebounds, eight assists, a steal and a block on Saturday.
In Friday's 58-50 win, she had five points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block. She played 32 minutes each night.
For the season, Knull is the Griffins' second-leading scorer with 13.4 points per game.
2nd STAR: Aidan Munro, Curling (Edmonton, AB, first-year, Nursing)
Competing in the first bonspiel of his ACAC career – the conference's Fall Regional at St. Paul Curling Club – Munro was a major reason why the Griffins mixed team posted a 4-1 record.
With the rink out to a slow start, sitting 1-1 after an 8-6 loss to Portage on Friday, MacEwan coaches Tom Kitagawa and Brian Lupul made a lineup switch. In that shuffle, Munro was shifted from third to throwing final stones. His clutch play tossing the most important rocks in each end allowed the Griffins to win their final three games by a combined 22-3 count.
Munro, a rookie out of Edmonton's Lillian Osborne high school, was particularly sharp in a 7-0 win over Lakeland on Saturday where he curled at 89 per cent.
3rd STAR: Cassidy Kinsella, OH, women's volleyball (Leduc, AB, fifth-year, Science)
MacEwan's electric outside hitter had an outstanding weekend in leading the Griffins to a near upset of the defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds.
In Saturday's narrow 3-2 loss, where T'Birds alumni called them the best team UBC has faced in their War Memorial Gym this season, Kinsella had a game-high 19 kills on a .171 hitting efficiency, adding nine digs and a block.
In Friday's 3-1 loss, another game in which the Griffins pushed the No. 2-ranked T'Birds, Kinsella led them with 15 kills on a .342 percentage, adding two service aces and three blocks.
Kinsella has now moved into eighth in career Canada West kills (1087), eighth in career kills/set (3.460) and, with 38.0 points scored between the two UBC matches, is now ninth in career points scored (1245.0).
Cassidy Kinsella compiled 34 kills in a pair of matches at UBC last weekend (Rich Lam / UBC Thunderbirds).
