Victor, Women's Basketball Huskies shine in road wins over Wolves to start season
The Keyano Huskies Women's Basketball team conquered their first road trip of the 2022-23 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Regular Season, topping the Northwest Polytechnic Wolves twice in Grande Prairie, Alta.
"It's always great to start the season off with two big wins," Head Coach Dwayne Vigilance said. "I think the girls played very well throughout the weekend.
"[We] struggled a little bit on Saturday after winning big on Friday, I think that's always the norm with a mixed team of older and young."
Friday, the Huskies were stellar at both ends of the court, defeating the Wolves 80-38. Saturday's margin of victory was halved in a 68-47 result that still delivered the weekend sweep.
"We did a good job of scouting them, but also the girls were locked in defensively as well," Vigilance said. "We had some pretty specific defensive goals that we wanted to obtain, and I think we did that."
Friday, the Huskies won the opening quarter 22-8 and didn't look back, limiting the Wolves to just 17 second-half points.
Joy Victor led the Huskies with 18 points, adding seven rebounds and six steals. Mzna Mohammed came off the bench to supply a double-double, draining 12 points and leading her side with 10 rebounds as well as adding nine steals.
Kaylynn Tucker's debut with the Huskies saw her tally 14 points to round out a trio of double-digit point scorers. She also contributed eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
The Wolves came out strong Saturday, eager to avoid a repeat of Friday by taking the first quarter 16-13. However, the Huskies rebounded to take a five-point lead at the half and took over in the second half with 36 points to put the game out of reach.
"I loved our adversity in the second half," Vigilance said of Saturday's win. "We came out, made some adjustments, and ended up doing well and winning the game."
Victor led a quarter of Huskies in double digits with 17 points while Maja Besic poured in 13 points and 11 rebounds. From the starting five, Kayla Lutterodt also found double digits with 10 points, adding eight rebounds and seven steals.
Mohammed played a key role off the bench for the second time in as many days. Though she knocked down just one shot from the field, she made good on 11 of her 16 free throws in the contest.
"The youngster can ball," Vigilance said. "She stepped in and did what we asked her to do. She played very well on both days.
"If you look at her stats for Saturday, they weren't big stats, but she was so impactful defensively and offensively breaking them down."
Mohammed also contributed five rebounds, one assist, and five steals to put her stamp on the game.
The Huskies will now return to the comfy confines of the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre this coming Friday and Saturday, playing host to the Lakeland Rustlers.
Friday's game tips off at 6:00 p.m. with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.