Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
KELOWNA, B.C. – So many positives came to the fore for the Griffins on Saturday, but none were enough to help them overcome a tough opening quarter where they allowed the UBC Okanagan Heat to score 30 points.
It all added up to a 78-56 loss for the Griffins and dropped their record to 1-17 in the Canada West women's basketball standings. UBCO improves to 9-9.
"We gave up 30 points in the first quarter, which is not going to put you in a positive situation too many times," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams. "It was their Senior Night tonight and had their Senior presentations before the game. We knew they were going to come out firing and sure enough, they did.
"We struggled to defend, and we spotted them 20 points early. To our credit, we fought back incredibly hard in the second quarter. We won the second quarter 21-11, but it was unfortunately too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of."
UBCO was led by Jaeli Ibbetson, who had a monster double double (21 points and 16 rebounds), while Sofia Ainsa Lluch chipped in 18 points and Kelsey Falk had 16 points and eight boards.
Makenzie Reeve led the Griffins with a career-high 17 points on 5-for-5 three-point shooting, which matches the fourth-best output from beyond the arc by a Griffin in a Canada West game.
"She shot the ball with confidence," said Adams. "She knows that if she's left open there, she has the freedom to shoot it and she knows that she can make that shot.
"I think for her, the first one she was open, she shot it, and it went in. That in itself gives you some confidence that 'OK, I can make that.' The second one comes around and you have a little bit more confidence to shoot it, and when the third one comes around, you're feeling pretty good. She saw five go down today, which was really big for us."
Kendall Lydon holds the program record, going 7-for-10 in a 2017 game against UBCO, while Mikah Reed went 6-for-12 and 6-for-17 in two games last season. Reeve matched Lydon's 5-for-5 game she had in 2016 against UNBC with her Saturday performance.
W��| FINAL@UBCOHeat 78@MacEwanU 56
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 4, 2024
Makenzie Reeve hits this 4th-quarter three to finish 5-for-5 (!) from beyond the arc - tied for the fourth-best three-point output by a Griffin in a @CanadaWest game. Reeve finishes with a career-high 17 points to pace the Griffins.… pic.twitter.com/oashdcetz7
"This is something that we see every week in practice," said Adams of Reeve. "We see a lot of them go in in our practice environment. She's had a bit of a rough streak where she's had some good open shots, and they just haven't dropped for her. Tonight, she certainly showed that she can be dangerous from beyond the arc."
Saturday was also the first game of the season three Griffins hit double figures in points as Noelle Kilbreath had 15, while Unity Obasuyi bucketed 12. Sarah Burnell put forth a monster effort on the glass with 11 rebounds, eight of them offensive boards.
"I thought today there were a lot of positives," said Adams. "I don't know if it's a season low, but 14 turnovers is very, very good for us in what we're trying to do.
"And I think it's the first time all season we had three players in double digits. It shows that we're building and getting better. We're having different people find ways to step up and contribute."
The Griffins will close out the regular season on Feb. 9-10 when they host Victoria.
