Briercrest head coach Will Con and the women’s basketball team faced off tonight against the SAIT Trojans led by coach Donovan Martin. SAIT currently ranked fourth in the south, coming off a sweep last weekend will look to continue the winning streak this weekend, whereas the Briercrest is looking forward to obtaining their first set of wins thus far in regular season. Both teams have extremely different rosters than they have had in previous years and displayed a magnitude of strengths on the court tonight.

Briercrest began the game strong, pushing the ball and working it inside on the offensive end. Briercrest brought fire and intense defensive pressure in the starting minutes. They got themselves started offensively by in-the-key action and great perimeter-post passing. Briercrest’s ability to keep turnovers under wraps was advantageous as well. Bailey Johnson solidified some important shots and rebounds, increasing Briercrest momentum. SAIT unable to score consistently but getting themselves good opportunities proved to keep them in line with Briercrest.

The second quarter proved to be a different game completely. SAIT came in ready to full court press and push the ball with impeccable speed. Kendell Kuntz of the Trojans received some strong skip passes and weak side rotations to score some big threes to set the Trojans up 25-16 early in the second. However, duo plays by Amy Wanvig and Bailey Johnson on the Briercrest side allowed for Briercrest to maintain stride with the Trojans, even though the players in red outworked them throughout the second. Briercrest point guard Brooke Olmstead showed tremendous hustle on both ends of the court which also contributed to keep SAIT’s run as small as possible. 

Beginning the third quarter, SAIT was up 33-22. Both teams traded shot for shot in the start of the third; however SAIT increased their lead as they capitalized on Briercrest’s mishandling of the ball. Chanelle Lockhart from SAIT hit a couple mid-range jumpers and continued the SAIT run. Half way through the third, SAIT took an eleven point lead. Wanvig, though, continued to execute with finesse and talent which allowed Briercrest to compete. Hannah Klassen did a phenomenal job off the bench, scoring two crucial three point shots followed by good defensive pressure and a pull up jumper late in the third. Unfortunately, SAIT’s full court pressure proved to be too much for Briercrest and they went into the fourth down ten.

In the fourth quarter the teams battled for the first few minutes, going relatively without big momentum shifting plays. Both teams applying good defensive pressure made it difficult to get fluid offensive plays running. After a timeout, SAIT’s pressure once again increased and forced risky passes from Briercrest and easy jumpers for their own team. Klassen, however, proved to answer with great finishes from multiple spots across the floor. Briercrest implemented a full-court man-to-man press which seemed to slow down the Trojans a bit mid-fourth quarter. Unfortunately, SAIT’s ability to shut down offensive threats and make wise decisions on the offensive end of the court proved to prevail tonight.

Final score for the game was 69-56 for the SAIT Trojans.

Players of the game tonight were Chanelle Lockhart for the SAIT Trojans and Hannah Klassen for the Briercrest Clippers. Klassen had a team high 16 points including a game high four three-pointers (4-6) along with three rebounds. It was a great effort by both teams as they were led by two phenomenal players.

Briercrest won the rebounding battle 49-34, while SAIT led the game in assists 17-14, blocks 2-0, and steals 13-4. Other Briercrest highs were Brooke Olmstead with a team high four assists, Bailey Johnson with a  game high 12 rebounds to go with 12 points, and Amy Wanvig with a team high 16 points to go with 10 rebounds.SAIT and Briercrest meet again for game number two tomorrow. Game time tomorrow is 1pm in the Hangar.

If you can’t make it to the next game be sure to watch online at acac.tv.

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