Women's Basketball participate in North-South Challenge
The Lakeland Rustlers Women's Basketball Team travelled to Edmonton on the weekend to participate in the North/South Challenge hosted by the NAIT Ooks. The tournament featured two of the top three teams from each of the North and South conferences, with teams playing the two teams from the opposing conference.
Friday, the Rustlers faced the #3 Olds College Broncos and lost the game 75-71. The Rustlers found themselves down 22-18 after the first quarter thanks to a strong start inside by Olds, drawing fouls and getting the Rustlers in foul trouble. The Rustlers foul trouble continued in the second quarter, as the Rustlers lacked the discipline and intensity defensively. The Broncos applied pressure that the Rustlers struggled to beat, resulting in turnovers and easy baskets for the Broncos. At the half, the Rustlers found themselves down 40-32.
The Rustlers came out strong to start the third quarter, beginning the half on a 10-0 run. The Rustlers applied strong ball pressure, forcing the Broncos to turn the ball over and take tough shots. The Rustlers cut the Broncos lead in half after three quarters, 57-53. In the fourth quarter, the Rustlers were aggressive and built a six-point lead, but could not get stops defensively down the stretch, allowing the Broncos to come back and get the four-point victory, 75-71.
The Rustlers were led by first year guard Kaitlyn Tonita with 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Fifth year forward Shania Magnusson added nine points and seven rebounds for the Rustlers.
Saturday, the Rustlers played the #1 team in the South and #4 nationally ranked SAIT Trojans. The Trojans applied lots of pressure to start the game, but the Rustlers were able to beat it with quick play by the guards. The Rustlers got two quick baskets from fifth year forward Kellsey Sinnett, helping them take a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Rustlers began to struggle with the Trojans pressure in the second quarter, turning the ball over nine times. On the defensive end, the Rustlers had poor rotations and over committed to help-side, giving the Trojans open shots.
At the half, the Rustlers led 32-30. In the third quarter, the Rustlers got out and running, scoring several easy baskets in transition. When the Rustlers slowed down, they once again struggled with the Trojans pressure, but still found themselves up 44-40 after three quarters. The Trojans started the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run, giving them a ten point lead. The Rustlers didn't score until the 3:13 mark of the quarter, with first year guard Hailey Sommers scoring the only two points of the quarter. The Rustlers held the Trojans to just two points in the final three minutes, but not being able to score themselves negated their stops on defence, as the Trojans went on to win 56-46.
Second year guard Emma Smallwood had eight points for the Rustlers, while first year forward Bailey Johnson added eight points and five rebounds for the Rustlers off the bench.
Rustlers Head Coach Chris King said despite the two losses, he got what he wanted out of the weekend.
"We got to see two of the tops teams in the South that we will face at Provincials," King said. "We got to see what they do and how we match up. , and we didn't play particularly well, but we still had a chance to win both games so as a coach that's a positive. We were pretty banged up this weekend, missing three of our top eight, so that changed things a bit for us, but other players stepped up. Emma [Smallwood] usually get a lot of minutes, but she came in and played well for us this weekend, so that was good to see."
The Rustlers have a bye next weekend before their second half of the regular season gets underway January 19th & 20th when the Rustlers travel to Fort McMurray to take on the Keyano Huskies.
The Rustlers return home January 26th & 27th when they take on the Grande Prairie Wolves.