Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
WINNIPEG – Forced into huge minutes due to having just eight healthy players available, five Griffins eclipsed 30 minutes against Manitoba on Saturday.
It was another impressive marathon performance under tough circumstances as they did all they could before the Griffins fell 73-56 to the Bisons in Canada West women's basketball action.
"I'm so proud of this team," said MacEwan head coach Katherine Adams. "There's been some adversity thrown our way and they've been resilient.
"We have young players stepping into big roles. If you look at the numbers from our first years … they're doing an unbelievable job and really making great contributions this weekend."
Rookie Toni Gordon recorded the first double double of her Canada West career with 10 point and 10 rebounds, while rookie point guard Toki Tsuzuki had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
"She's usually there on rebounds, but for her to get to 10 points is really good," said Adams of Gordon. "Just their effort and eagerness to learn, and willingness to try and fight, there's a lot to be said about that."
MacEwan had two other players in double digits as Mackenzie Farmer led the team with 16 points, while Shannon Majeau scored 10.
Manitoba's Lauren Bartlett recorded a rare triple triple with 16 points, 11 assists and 10 steals, while Emily Johnson had a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The teams shot in the same ballpark, but the Bisons earned more opportunities by winning the turnover game (25-21), offensive rebounding (20-11) and steals (18-9).
"We had 25 turnovers, which led to some easier scores for them," said Adams. "Offensive rebounds – they out-rebounded us by nine at the opposite end. Any time you earn more possessions from steals, turnovers or offensive rebounds, it's a higher likelihood you're going to create a higher score. So, it's something we'll continue to work and hopefully learn from and grow in moving forward."
With the result, Manitoba improves to 4-12, while MacEwan falls to 2-14.
Next up for the Griffins is a road trip to Lethbridge on Feb. 3-4.
