Playoff-bound Cougars set for play-in game

Win or go home in Valentine’s Day showdown

The Cougars women’s basketball team is going to the playoffs! However, they aren’t exactly going in on a high note. The Cougars have lost their last four games. To put a cherry on top of this pie without whipped cream, they must win a play-in game against Victoria on the road to advance. Tough task, Victoria finished 7 in Can West going 12-8, while Regina finished 8-12. Further, Regina has only won two games against teams that finished the year above .500 on the road and Victoria has only lost one game at home to a sub .500 team.

The Victoria Vikes are led by Ashlyn Day who averages 16.4 points per game she is a lethal 3-point shooter knocking down 45 per cent of her attempts. Day, along with 3-point specialist Morgan Roskelley, who makes over two per game on 43 per cent shooting, lead the way on offence. Katie Langdon will also be a load to handle down low. She had a tough January but has played well the last 5 games and will be looking to advance in the playoffs in her fifth year. The Vikes are especially protective of home court going 8-3, which makes the task even more daunting for the 5-6 road team. The Vikes have a deep team and will probably tighten up their rotation for the play-in game.

On the Cougars side, it’s been a tough year with a lot of injuries and an incomplete roster to be frank. Coach Taylor has done the best he can managing the roster and getting the most out of the team. They have been a very scrappy team, always fighting, like this past weekend when they went down big to Fraser Valley, but pulled to single digits multiple times in the second half.

Season ticket holder Steven has been watching the team all year and is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming game against Victoria.

“I believe this Cougar team, though not one of the best or most talented teams we have seen recently competes so well on defence. Coach Taylor has them locked in and they usually make it difficult for the other team to score. I think they have a really good matchup with Victoria, which makes me super nervous because these games can be a coin toss.”

This season the Cougars have been middle of the pack in nearly every statistical save for defensive rebounding, in which they are first, and steals where they rank last. They make 37.5 per cent of their field goals and 30 per cent of their 3-pointers. The Cougars play really good defence, but they don’t create enough turnovers. Compounding that problem for the one game playoff, is the fact that Victoria takes care of the ball better than all but two teams in Can West. The game will obviously come down to who is able to make shots and take care of the ball. The teams are very evenly matched with both having margin of victory differentials within half a point of each other. Both teams make shots, play defence and get after it. So, the competition will be fierce.