Friday at 6 pm vs. Alberta & Saturday at 6 pm vs Saskatchewan.
Game times
FRIDAY:
Women’s Basketball – vs. the No.2 Alberta Pandas, Friday (6p.m.)*
SATURDAY:
Women’s Basketball – vs. the No. 5 Saskatchewan Huskies, Saturday (6p.m.)*
*To be played at UBC’s Okanagan campus gymnasium
Women’s Basketball – Heat women’s basketball will begin the 2013-2014 Canada West season this weekend, playing host to the No. 2 University of Alberta and the No.5 University of Saskatchewan on Friday, November 1st and Saturday, November 2nd.
Both the Pandas and Huskies wrapped up the exhibition portion of their respective seasons versus one another on Thursday, October 24th, with the Pandas winning convincingly 66-51.
UBC Okanagan completed their exhibition season with a weekend series on October 25th and 26th, splitting the weekend series with a 73-66 win versus the Trinity Western Spartans and a 72-56 loss to the Fraser Valley Cascades.
This is the first time in conference play either Alberta or Saskatchewan have played in Kelowna.
The Heat will face the Pandas on Friday, November 1st at 6 p.m. and the Huskies on Saturday, November 2nd at 6 p.m. Both games will be held at UBC’ Okanagan campus Gymnasium in Kelowna, BC.
If you haven't read the Canada West preview here they are for this weekend's teams:
ALBERTA PANDAS
2012-13 conference record: 14-8 (3rd Prairie)
2013 playoffs: 2-2
Last CW title: N/A
Last CIS title: 1999
CIS ranking: #1
CW ranking: #1
Key additions: Sarah Binns (G), Jamie Norum (G), Elle Hendershot (F), Colleen Moyer (P), Erin MacKinnon (G)
Key returnees: Sally Hillier (G), Saskia Van Ginhoven (F), Jessilyn Fairbanks (G), Kendra Asleson (F), Renee Byrne (G)
Key departures: Anneka Bakker (F), Katie Arbuthnot (G)
EDMONTON – Flush with returning players, and buoyed by the addition of two more, the 2013-14 University of Alberta Pandas basketball team enter the Canada West season as one of the teams to beat.
After finishing the 2012-13 campaign with a 14-8 record, the Pandas swept UBC in the conference quarterfinals in Vancouver, but were then bounced from the conference championship tournament.
The Pandas enter the 2013-14 season ranked No.1 in Canada West, and No.2 in CIS, thanks to a 9-1 preseason record, which included a close loss (57-50) to the three-time defending national champions from Windsor. Four of Alberta's top five scorers from last season return, as well as three of their top four rebounders. Sally Hillier (G), Kendra Asleson (F) and Saskia Van Ginhoven (F) will be the driving force of Alberta's offence this year, while returning guards Jessilyn Fairbanks and Renee Byrne will also be top contributers.
Guards Sarah Binns and Jaime Norum are also back after missing the 2012-13 season. Binns is in her fourth-year of eligibility, and last played CIS ball in 2011-12 when she averaged 13 minutes a game for the Pandas, and scored five points a game, while also racking 11 assists and 17 steals. Norum, meanwhile, gets back on the hard court for the first time since 2010 after dealing with two ACL injuries and rehabilitations. She joined Alberta in time for the 2010-11 season as one of the top guard recruits in Alberta, but blew her knee out in her rookie season. After surgery, and during recovery, Norum blew the same knee out while in Africa with the group Athletes in Action. Having persevered through two surgeries and two rehabilitations on the same knee, Norum played her first game for the Pandas during the preseason, and now provides Alberta with great depth at the guard position.
Adding some size to the Pandas is recruits Elle Hendershot (F), who hails from Lubbock, Texas, and Winnipeg's Colleen Moyer (P). Adding to Alberta's depth at guard is former CCAA Academic All-Canadian, and Team Alberta player, Erin MacKinnon.
The regular season starts on the road on November 1-2 when the Pandas travel to B.C. to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat and the TRU WolfPack.
SASKATCHEWAN HUSKIES
2012-13 conference record: 13-9 (4th Prairie)
2013 playoffs: 1-2
Last CW title: 2011
Last CIS title: N/A
CIS ranking: #5
CW ranking: #4
Key additions: Antoinette Miller, Madeline Humbert, Megan Lindquist
Key returnees: Dalyce Emmerson, Kabree Howard, Kiera Lyons, Riley Humbert
Key departures: none
SASKATOON – Returning the entire starting lineup for the 2013-14 season, the University of Saskatchewan Huskie women's basketball squad enters another year looking to be a force in the Canada West.
Leading the lineup is two-time Canada West All-Star Dalyce Emmerson, as well as veteran guards Kiera Lyons, Kabree Howard and Riley Humbert. Emmerson, a 6-3, post, led the Huskies and sat fourth in the conference averaging 17.7 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game in 2012-13. She honed her skills as part of Canada's entry at the World University Games in Kazan, Russia, where she played a key role on the squad. Fifth-year Lyons was a big addition to the starting lineup in 2012-13 averaging 14.5 points per game. Howard will quarterback the offence after averaging four points per game and tallying 73 assists last season. Humbert chipped in another 6.7 points per game for the offence while playing 27.5 minutes in a game.
Saskatchewan also has international experience with second-year forward Kaylee Halvorson. The perimeter player donned Canada's Junior Women's National Team for the second straight season, helping the entry to a seventh place finish at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Lithuania.
Adding to the team will be import college-transfer Antoinette Miller and high school recruits Madeline Humbert and Megan Lindquist. Miller was named a Second Team All-American by the NJCAA for the Phoenix College Bears. The 5-7, point guard averaged 15.8 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game to earn the honours. Humbert is the youngest in the family of three who all played for the green and white. Older sister Riley enters her fourth season with the Huskies, while the eldest, Jillian, played five seasons and is currently an assistant coach.
The Huskies open their season on the road with a B.C. swing trip visiting the Thompson Rivers WolfPack and UBC Okanagan Heat on November 1 and 2.
UBC OKANAGAN HEAT
2012-13 conference record: 6-16 (7th Pacific, missed playoffs)
Last CW title: N/A
Last CIS title: N/A
CIS ranking: N/A
CW ranking: #16
Key additions: Claire Elliott, Olivia Johnson, Julia Reichert, Shenelle Tamminen
Key returnees: Sarah Allison, Emily Kanester, Krystal Schouten, Angela White
Key departures: Roslyn Huber, Madison Kaneda, Melissa Irish
KELOWNA, BC – It will be hard for head coach Heather Semeniuk, in her 20th season as bench boss for the Kelowna team, to replace the minutes logged by her departed players. Gone are 75 minutes a game and 32-percent of the scoring off of the six-win team from 2012-13.
Back to shoulder the scoring load and to log big minutes are the junior backcourt duo of Emily Kanester (Vernon, BC) and Sarah Allison (South Surrey, BC). The pair of third year guards were one-two on the team in scoring last season (13.5 ppg. and 10.6 ppg. respectively) and will play an even bigger role this season.
Defence from the guards will be a strength of this Heat squad as coach Semeniuk can continually roll out one, two, three, or even four guard lineups that love to play pressure defense. Angela White (N. Vancouver, BC), one of two fourth year players on the team, will again be tasked to shut down the opponent's top offensive threat. Second year Jessica Jazdarehee (Coquitlam, BC) can also defend, and is a strong rebounder from the guard spot.
Two freshmen, Claire Elliott (N. Vancouver, BC) and Olivia Johnson (Kelowna, BC), both are strong defensive players and have showed well in the preseason. Another rookie that will be asked to play a big role on this team is 6-2 Julia Reichert (Princeton, BC). Krystal Schouten (Winnipeg, MB), the other fourth year on the squad, is the starting post and is finally healthy going into a season.
Scoring has a chance to come from three others on the roster as Tia Sadler (Golden, BC), Laura Marcolin (Rothesay, NB), a transfer from UPEI, and rookie Shenelle Tamminen (Calgary, AB) can all shoot the ball, and score quickly when on the court.