Women's Basketball head down to Regina

The women's basketball team headed down to Regina on the weekend to take on the University of Regina Cougars and the U18 Cougars PEBL (Prairie Elite Basketball League) team. 

Saturday morning, the PEBL team came out strong and got out to an early lead, thanks to strong shooting from the 3 point line. The Rustlers came back with an inside-out attack with 5th-year forward Shania Magnusson finishing inside, 3rd-year guard Taiya Paylor from the 3 point line and 1st-year guard Kaitlyn Tonita slashing to the basket. At the half, the score was tied at 34. In the second half, the teams continued to battle back and forth. 1st-year forward Bailey Johnson came up with a big basket late, helping secure the 64-61 win.

Saturday night, the Rustlers faced the University of Regina Cougars, a frequently strong team in Canada West and U Sports women's basketball.  The Cougars took the lead early, thanks to strong defence and physical play. The Rustlers struggled with the pressure the Cougars applied in the full court, falling behind 62-16 at the half.

In the second half, the Rustlers showed improvements, applying more pressure defensively and making smarter decisions on offense. 1st-year guard Jaden Cook did a good job playing point guard for the Rustlers, handling the pressure and getting the team into the offense. The Rustlers also saw positive things from 1st-year guard Hailey Somers who was solid on defence and rebounded well. In the end, the Cougars were much too strong for the Rustlers, winning the game 109-36.

Sunday morning, the Rustlers again played the University of Regina Cougars with the hopes of having learned from Saturday and having a better game. In the first half, the Rustlers struggled as they had on Saturday with the ball pressure by the Cougars, as the Rustlers only managed to score 8 points in the first half.

In the third quarter, the Rustlers locked in on defence, holding the Cougars to 16 points, while scoring 9 of their own. The Rustlers continued their strong play in the 4th quarter with Paylor knocking down three 3's and attacking the basket.

While the Rustlers dropped the game, Head Coach Chris King got what he wanted out of the weekend.  "The purpose of these games is to show us what areas we need to improve on," King said, "and it did exactly that."

The Rustlers travel to Calgary next weekend to take part in an exhibition tournament at SAIT. The regular season begins on October 13th when the Rustlers will travel to Edmonton to take on the King's Eagles, with the home opener on October 14 against the same King's Eagles.