Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
-with files from MRU Athletics
CALGARY – In a testament to their character and their ability to fight through adversity, the Griffins women's basketball team – with just eight healthy players – knocked off the Mount Royal University Cougars 71-64 on Saturday.
Missing more than a quarter of their lineup due to illness, MacEwan could have easily used it as an excuse.
Instead, the Griffins overcame a five-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and posted their first win of the Canada West season.
"We just gritted it out today," said head coach Katherine Adams. "We made some adjustments. There were definitely some areas (to improve upon) when we watched film (of Friday's 69-61 loss to the Cougars). We knew it was our defence that let us down, so there were some areas we really focused on to be better at today. The girls responded beautifully."
Four Griffins hit double digits in points; Mackenzie Farmer scored 20, Noelle Kilbreath had 19, Hayley Lalor chipped in 13 points in a game-high 37 minutes on court and Mikah Reed had 11.
With the result, the Griffins improve to 1-3, while also dropping the Cougars to 1-3.
The lead changed seven times throughout the game with MRU up 17-15 after the first quarter, MacEwan ahead 36-34 at the half and the Cougars taking a 56-51 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
MacEwan didn't wrest the lead from MRU until Lalor's three-pointer with 4:26 left in the game. After the teams traded baskets, Farmer's free throws with 1:28 left put MacEwan up 65-63 and Reed's three with 36 seconds left made it 68-64, forcing the Cougars to try and foul.
When Toni Gordon grabbed a defensive rebound with 26 seconds left, it all but sealed the result. The Griffins outscored the Cougars 20-8 in the fourth quarter to net the win.
Katherine Adams is proud that contributions came from everybody in Saturday's victory (Ellery Platts photo).
"The nice thing was – and we said it at the end of the game – is every player on the floor in the last five minutes found a way to contribute," said Adams. "Mikah hit a huge three, Hayley hit a huge three, Mac had a great post entry and attack to finish, Noelle split the D at the top and hit a pull-up jumper and Toni had a huge defensive rebound as the clock was winding down that sealed the game for us.
"It was just really great to see that everybody found their moment to add value and give us what we needed to secure the win."
That's the kind of win a team can truly build upon. Just wait until they get back to full strength.
"Those are the things that are going to help us in the future," said Adams. "These close game moments, these battles, are a great learning opportunity and experience and we just hope we can carry that forward."
The Griffins will return to Calgary next weekend to face the Dinos on Nov. 18-19.
