Women's Basketball Huskies charge past Thunder for seventh-straight victory

While it wasn't the ending the Keyano Huskies Women's Basketball team envisioned, they still emerged victorious from Sunday's lone weekend clash with a 75-67 topping of the Concordia Thunder in Edmonton, Alta.

The game played out along similar lines to the Huskies' other wins in 2022. Five different players, including three starters, reached double-digit points in the contest. The dynamic Kiana Mintz led the way again with 17 points and nine rebounds.

"We definitely want a lot of people to be a contributor offensively," Head Coach Dwayne Vigilance said. "It's just one of those things that when everyone's scoring, everyone's contributing, we're a better basketball team."

For three quarters, the Huskies feasted on the defence of a Concordia team playing their third game in as many days. They took a 24-20 lead through the opening quarter, increased that lead to 12 at the half, and won a tight third quarter to increase the lead to 15.

"I thought we came out strong," Zera Panesa said. "We definitely looked at film and knew what was coming.

"Being attack minded and focusing on getting the ball into the key was really important for us today."

However, the three quarters of work was nearly forgotten as the Thunder pushed to earn the win on their home court.

The score in the final quarter didn't reflect a serious challenge as the Huskies' lead didn't dip below double digits until the final minute of the quarter. However, the consistency piece was still important for Vigilance to keep his team focused on.

"We didn't finish up as well as we wanted to, but it's one of those things that we can work on," Vigilance said. "Right now, we're not a very good fourth-quarter team.

"It's something we need to work on to finish teams."

After Mintz's 17 points, Moiyan Toure contributed 13 of her own with nine more rebounds. Panesa and Danielle MacLellan each tallied 12 points of their own while Kayla Lutterodt reached the double-digit mark with 10 points.

In a foul-heavy game, the Huskies made the Thunder pay at the line, sinking 16 of their 18 free throw attempts, or 88.9 per cent, for their best single-game percentage this season. Mintz made all six of her attempts while Panesa made good on four of four shots herself.  

"We wanted to push the ball up faster and just run them down, which I think we did in the first half," Panesa added of the game strategy. "I was pretty impressed with our team."

At 8-3 through 11 games, the Huskies remain in a tight battle with the University of Alberta - Augustana Vikings for second place in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference's (ACAC) North Division. Coincidentally, the two teams will meet up for the third and final game of their season series this weekend.

The Huskies return to action this weekend with a pair of games. Friday, they're on the road in Camrose, Alta., facing the Vikings at 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, they'll return home for a date against The King's University Eagles at 1:00 p.m. at the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre.