Women's Basketball sweep King's Eagles
In the first weekend of ACAC Basketball action, the Lakeland Rustlers swept the King's Eagles with a 61-54 victory Friday night on the road, followed by a 79-45 win Saturday night at home.
The two teams were back and forth for much of the first quarter, with neither team leading by more than 4 points. The Rustlers struggled in the second quarter, having breakdowns in defensive rotations and not executing offensively. The Rustlers poor second quarter would find them down 40-35 at the half. While it took them awhile to get going, the Rustlers looked better on both sides of the ball in the second half.
The Rustlers only gave up 3 points in the third quarter, while scoring 13 of their own, giving them a 48-43 lead after three quarters. The Rustlers increased their lead to as many as 12 in the fourth quarter but allowed the Eagles to fight their way back within four late in the game. The Rustlers were able to hold on and win 61-54. 5th-year forward Shania Magnusson led the Rustlers with 13 points, while first year forward Bailey Johnson added 11, and 2nd-year guard Angela Baran and fourth year forward Anna Mbuyi each added 9.
Player of the Game for the Rustlers was #14 Anna Mbuyi.
Saturday night, the Rustlers were the better team right from tip-off. The Rustlers got out to a quick start in the first quarter, attacking the basket and drawing fouls, jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. The Rustlers increased their lead to as many as 12 in the quarter, but the Eagles would battle back, and the Rustlers would go through a scoring drought before the quarter ended. At the end of the first quarter, the Rustlers led 19-10. Lakeland picked up the intensity defensively in the second quarter, forcing the Eagles to turn the ball over and give the Rustlers fast break opportunities. When the Rustlers could not score in transition, they were able to attack the basket and draw fouls or get good shots in the half court.
The Rustlers once again went through a scoring drought late in the quarter but were able to stop King's from scoring for much of the quarter. At halftime, the Rustlers headed to the locker room with a 36-18 lead. The Rustlers and Eagles traded baskets to start the third quarter before both teams would go three minutes without scoring. The Eagles had their best quarter of the game, scoring 14 points in the third quarter, but were still outscored by the Rustlers, allowing them to increase their lead to 61-32.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles were able to get some easy baskets, but not enough to overcome the lead already built by the Rustlers, as they won 79-45. Magnusson once again led the Rustlers with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. First year guard Kaitlyn Tonita added 13 points, and second year guard Ally Pilgrim added 12 points and four rebounds for the Rustlers.
Player of the Game for the Rustlers was #9, Shania Magnusson.
Rustlers Head Coach Chris King saw improvements from his team from Friday to Saturday.
"Friday we were inconsistent," King said. "Our defence was inconsistent, and our intensity wasn't always there. Saturday we did a better job defensively and had more intensity from the start. We need to play with that intensity right from the start of the weekend and not have it take us a game to get there."
The Rustlers travel to Grande Prairie October 20th and 21st to take on the GPRC Wolves. The Rustlers next home action is on October 27th against the NAIT Ooks.