Matt Johnson, Huskie Athletics
SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team dominated from beginning to end in their home opener, scoring a decisive 78-32 victory over the MacEwan Griffins on Friday, Nov. 8 on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC.
In what was the first-ever meeting for the two programs in Canada West action in Saskatoon, the Huskies were able to control from start-to-finish to pick up the win.
Katriana Philipenko's 25-point night helped the third-year guard set a new career-high in points. Philipenko, a Saskatoon native, was making it rain from three-point range, going 7-9 from beyond-the-arc in what was a dominant performance. Fellow backcourt member Sabina Dukate was the only other Huskie to reach double-digit scoring, with a 13-point, six steal night in 19 minutes of action. Fifth-year guard Megan Ahlstrom stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
The Huskies, who entered the weekend as the number one team in the nation following a pair of convincing wins over the Brandon Bobcats, recorded their third-consecutive victory to improve to 3-0 in the 2019-20 Canada West campaign.
The Griffins, who came to Saskatoon with a 1-1 record after splitting their season-opening series on home court against the Mount Royal Cougars, fell below the .500 mark, moving to 1-2 on the season.
Mackenzie Farmer led MacEwan with 11 points, five rebounds and five steals in the losing effort.
The defending Canada West Champions wasted little time hopping out to an early 16-2 lead, as a pair of threes from both Dukate and Philipenko gave the host Huskies a 14-point advantage in the first quarter. Saskatchewan held MacEwan to 4 points on 1-12 shooting in the opening frame, leading to a 23-4 lead through ten minutes of action.
The second quarter was much of the same, as the Huskies went on an 8-0 run to open the frame, taking a commanding 33-4 lead. Brianna Fehr recorded six of the Huskies 18 points in the second, as Saskatchewan took a 41-10 lead into halftime.
After the Griffins began the third quarter with back-to-back lay-ups, the Huskies responded with a 14-2 run of their own. Philipenko found her groove in the frame, eight of her 25 on the night in the third, including two of her seven three-pointers to help Saskatchewan take a 59-19 lead into the fourth quarter.
MacEwan was able to play the fourth closer, as Ellie McCarthy recorded all four of her points on the night in the final frame for the visitors. However, unfortunately for the Griffins, their early deficit was too much to overcome, as the Huskies were able to roll to a 46-point victory on their home court.
Saskatchewan and MacEwan will take the court Saturday (4 p.m., Canada West TV presented by Co-op), as the Griffins will look to rebound for a split.
