Lakeland Rustlers Basketball Recap - December 2023
Lakeland College Athletics has enjoyed one of the best first semesters in it's history. In the coming days, we will be sharing a recap of each team's season thus far.
Results
It's another promising year for basketball at Lakeland College, but the journey is far from over.
Following a strong exhibition season, which included defeating U-Sports competition, the women's team went undefeated through 11 games. Their average margin of victory was over 20 points, with no team holding the Rustlers to a single digit victory. Currently, the squad is second in the CCAA National Rankings behind defending champion VIU and one of the only remaining undefeated teams in the country, which includes the RDP Queens of the ACAC South Division.
A sweep at the hands of the Concordia Thunder marked a slow start for the men's regular season, before they won eight straight games, capping the semester with a tight loss to the NAIT Ooks. Despite missing key players to injuries and other factors, the team is 8-3, good for second in the North Division, several wins clear of the teams below and just one win the top North seed, Keyano.
Highlights
In the season opener, international point guard Missy Nuku had 32 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals. Susan Ayaa had a monster showing off the bench Nov. 10, scoring 28 points and adding 8 rebounds and 4 blocks.
The men had two spectacular comebacks Nov. 3-4 against the Briercrest Clippers and MHC Rattlers, coming from behind to win 91-88 and 95-93. In the latter contest, Abdul Al-Tamimi had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
Statistics
Nuku is having spectacular rookie campaign for the Rustlers, sitting seventh in points per game with 16.2 and first in assists per game with 5.2. Ayaa has had a strong sophomore season, sitting second in the league in blocks per game at 1.8, in addition to 11.3 points per game. All-Canadian Alana Olson is scoring at 15.7 points per game, while sitting fifth in total rebounds, while third year post Leena Garda is fourth in field goal percentage at 55.4.
Abdul Al-Tamimi is 10th in points per game at 19, he's also second in the ACAC in total minutes played, first in total assists, seventh in total defensive rebounds and second in steals per game. Andre McFadden, since returning to the lineup after injury, sits fourth in the league in 3-point percentage, shooting 46.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Second Semester Outlook
Only eight regular season games remain before the postseason, but there's plenty of exhibition play. The two squads will head south after boxing day, where they will play games against Montana Tech, Carroll College and Montana State University-Northern of the NAIA. Then, both teams will have friendlies against basketball academy teams in early January at Lakeland.
Women's basketball have their biggest matchup of the year on Feb. 16 against the also currently undefeated Queens, before celebrating fifth year graduating players Hailee Sommers, Jaden Cook and Ally Pilgrim the following evening. The Rustlers met the Queens in exhibition play back in early October, which they won 77-63 and 82-52. Regardless of their ACAC Championship performance, the team will host the CCAA National Championship March 13-16 in Lloydminster
The men will face their toughest competition in the second half of the year, with games against the top four teams in the Conference, Keyano, Red Deer, Saint Mary's and SAIT. If they overtake Keyano for first in the North, they could host the ACAC Final Four, if they finish second, they will host their quarterfinal game.
Coaches Stamp
Chris King, Women's Basketball:
"11-0 and first in the North is where we want to be. We started the semester coming from behind in the third quarter quite often, but we've fixed that as of late, so that's positive."
"After Christmas, we have Red Deer, Keyano and St. Mary's on the schedule, so we'll be tested. We've got a deep roster and expect that to be our strength."
Sheray Thomas, Men's Basketball:
"We didn't start off great, with a new team and some injuries, but we were able to recover with that eight game winning streak. The guys got to grasp how to play together and what the league is like this year."
"We need everyone to be eligible to compete, because the second half will be a test for us, as we play several nationally ranked teams. Looking forward to it."