Cougars basketball updates
Cougars struggle for oxygen
The University of Regina men’s basketball team took on the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, Nov 1 in their home opener, and again on Saturday. The men lost both of the games and fell to 0-2 on the season.
The first game on Friday was tough, UBC took the lead early in the first quarter and didn’t really look back, with the final score somewhat flattering the U of R, 72-83. Very similar to the women, it seemed like the men were struggling to put the biscuit in the basket as they shot 33 per cent from the field and 20 per cent from 3, while allowing UBC to score 46 points in the paint. Josiah Thomas led the team with 24 and Carter Millar added a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the rest of the team just couldn’t knock down shots as no one finished above 50 per cent shooting except for Thomas.
One positive for the Cougars is that their defense created a lot of turnovers, which led to 17 points. However, containing both Jadon Cohee and Grant Shepard, who dropped 24 and 19 points respectively on a combined 15-20 shooting from the field and 3-4 behind the arc, proved impossible. Those two Thunderbirds outscored the entire starting lineup for the Cougars by 13 points, which really speaks to the talent disparity.
In the second game the Cougars came undone in the fourth quarter as they carried a seven point lead into the final frame and ended up losing 71-82. The Cougars did a better job on defense through the first three quarters, holding UBC to 31 per cent shooting, but let the Thunderbirds nail five of six from three point land in the fourth to fall just short. In contrast the Cougars shot 1-9 in the quarter and basketball is a make or miss game. Carter Millar had another excellent game with 17 and 8, and the starters rebounded from a poor performance the night before, but the bench didn’t provide the same scoring punch they did the night before. The five starters for UBC all scored in double digits and were 11-25 from 3, which really helped them steal a win from the home team.
The team is in Calgary next week to take on Mount Royal on Nov. 7 and 8. You can watch them live on Canadawest.tv
The season didn’t start off on the right foot for the Cougars women’s basketball team as the UBC Thunderbirds strolled in for a two game sweep Game one was a close one throughout, UBC and Regina traded punches all night long with the Cougars seemingly not able to get over the hump that the Thunderbirds built up. In the fourth quarter, UBC went on a late run to finally pull away with the game ending 58-70. The Cougars struggled offensively shooting 35 per cent from the field and 21 per cent from 3, also missing 7 free throws.
For the Cougars Emily Dewey and Michaela Kleisinger led the way with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Both of them shot 13-24 combined and were the only consistent scorers on the evening. The team’s offense looked very good throughout the night as they consistently got open looks, but just couldn’t execute their shots at the rate they needed to. The Cougars competed hard on defense but could never get multiple defensive stops in a row when they needed it most. Jessica Hanson and Keylyn Filewich were a handful for the Cougars as they dropped 38 of the Thunderbirds 70 points, while shooting an efficient 16-29 from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc.
The second game went about the same as the first, with Regina jumping out quickly and taking the lead, but UBC quickly struck back with an 11-1 run and led for the rest of the game. The Cougars almost looked to run out of a bit of steam on the first weekend as they got beat on the boards with UBC grabbing 48 total, 1 with 14 offensive boards leading to 15 second chance-points, while the Cougars can only muster up 3.
Emily Dewey led the Cougars again with 15 points and Macaela Crone, Avery Pearce, and Faith Reid chipped in with 10, 9, and 8 respectively. Once again Kelylyn Filewich dominated for the Thunderbirds with 22 points, on 11-17 shooting, and 10 rebounds, while Jessica Hanson and Hailey Counsell scored 13 a piece. The Cougars lost a lot of offensive scoring since last year, so the Cougars are relying on a full team effort to pick up the load. Though their offense created open looks, those looks need to be capitalized on in order for this team (or any team for that matter) to do well.
The Cougars are on the road this weekend in Calgary taking on Mount Royal on Nov. 7 and 8. Catch it live on CanadaWest.tv
