Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Shannon Majeau produced a double double for a second-straight night, leading the MacEwan Griffins women's basketball team to a huge 69-61 win over Thompson Rivers University to close out the first semester.
The 6-foot-1 fifth-year post player from Spruce Grove, Alta. had 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Griffins bounced back after losing to TRU on Friday and go into the winter break on a high note.
Mackenzie Farmer led the Griffins with 20 points and seven boards, while Hayley Lalor added her own double double (11 points, 10 rebounds) as the Griffins improved to 2-8 on the season.
"I can't say enough about the play of Shannon, Mac and Hayley tonight and across the weekend," said head coach Katherine Adams. "They are just so steady and consistent and reliable. Shannon had a double double today and yesterday. Mac had a double double yesterday and another great performance tonight. And Hayley's consistent across the board.
"Their play allows our younger athletes to come in and really thrive because we know what we're going to get from them night in and night out."
Which was important because the Griffins were without one of their leading scorers as Noelle Kilbreath didn't suit up. So, they got 34 huge minutes from rookie Toni Gordon (eight points, seven rebounds), while Mikah Reed, Toki Tsuzuki and Makenzie Reeve all hit double digits on minutes, as well.
"The manner in which we were able to take care of business today – it was a complete team effort," said Adams. "Noelle didn't play today, so we were down one of our leading scorers and it just required people to be at their best. Some others really stepped up and found some different roles and I thought we did a tremendous job of that collectively."
The Griffins led 21-15 after 10 minutes and maintained that six-point lead at the half. TRU had it within two for much of the fourth quarter, but Tsuzuki hit a huge three-pointer with 3:50 left to give MacEwan a cushion they would ride to the finish as both Majeau and Farmer hit big buckets, and Lalor netted a key offensive rebound and steal, all adding up to an eight-point win.
"We've said all along that each game there's been someone different step up and provide what we needed in that moment and in that game, and today was an opportunity for a lot of them to showcase that," said Adams.
Next up for the Griffins are a pair of home games against Trinity Western on Jan. 6-7.
