Women’s Basketball Locks up First in the North

The basketball teams are getting closer to finishing the regular season and the playoff pairings are becoming a little clear.  This past weekend the Rustlers competed against two of their north rivals with differing results.

Friday the women's team was competing in Camrose against the Augustana Vikings.  The first half was fairly close between the teams with the Rustlers going into the dressing room with a 6 point lead.  The second half was similar to the first half with the Rustlers outscoring the Vikings by a slight margin to win the game 74 – 65. Hailey Somers led all Rustler scorers with 17 points and Bilge Topaloglu led the team defensively with 12 total rebounds.

Saturday at home the Rustlers hosted the NAIT Ooks and both teams played a fairly close game in the first half with the Rustlers taking a slight 30 – 28 lead into the dressing room.  The third quarter was also close before the Rustlers took over in the fourth quarter outscoring their opponents 26 – 9  on their way to an 83- 59 victory.  Player of the game Alana Olson scored 12 points for the Rustlers and pulled in 10 rebounds to help the Rustlers run their record to 14 and 0 and seal up first place in the North Division.  The victory earned the team a bye in the first round and the opportunity to host a north division semi-final.

The men's basketball team played two solid games but ended up on the losing end of both.  Friday in Augustana, the Rustlers dropped behind early but slowly worked to pull even with the Vikings.  At the end of the third quarter, the Rustlers were down by 15 when they started to mount a comeback.  The Rustlers outscored the Vikings 32 – 25 in the fourth quarter but were not able to complete the comeback and fell to the Vikings 101 – 93.  Riley Rathwell led all Rustler scorers with 22 points.

Saturday the Rustlers returned to the friendly confines of home where they hosted the NAIT Ooks.  The first half was a low-scoring affair with the Rustlers having a slight lead over the Ooks at the half 37 – 35.  The Rustlers built on their lead in the third quarter before the Ooks came back with a run in the fourth to steal away a victory from the Rustlers by a score of 74 – 73.  Player of the Game for the Rustlers was Artavis Holiday who dropped 18 points and pulled down 8 rebounds.

The men have secured a playoff position but which place they will end up in is yet to be determined.