RECAP: Heat women fall to Griffins in Edmonton

UBC Okanagan were beaten by 11 in the first of their two matchups against MacEwan this weekend.

FINAL	                1	2	3	4	T
UBC Okanagan (3-14)	3	15	21	11	50
MacEwan (5-12)	        13	12	17	19	61

EDMONTON, AB - The UBC Okanagan Heat women’s basketball team were beaten by the Grant MacEwan University Griffins 61-50 on Friday night in the Edmonton school’s MacEwan Gym.

At half-time the Heat were down 25-18, and had pulled within three points through three quarters at 42-39. The Griffins proved to be the stronger closing team, though, outscoring the visitors 19-11 in the final ten minutes of play to hold an 11-point lead, 61-50, at the final buzzer.

MacEwan was the better shooting team all around in the game, with a better field goal percentage (40.4% - 34.9%), three-point percentage (41.7% - 14.3%), and free throw percentage (62.5% - 36.4%). The Heat were able to capitalize better on turnovers, forcing 23 while only giving up 19, and turning those 23 into 16 points while the Griffins scored just nine. The UBCO bench was also better on the night, scoring 16 points compared to MacEwan’s bench’s nine. The rebounds and assists totals were also better for the Griffins, grabbing 47 boards to the Heat’s 35, and finishing with 17 rebounds to 13 for UBCO.

Kayla Ivicak from MacEwan finished with a double-double of a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Paige Knull also finished scoring in double digits for the Griffins with 17 points.

For the Heat it was Chloe Kennedy leading in scoring with 12 points. Claire Elliott was the assists leader for UBCO with four, and Shenelle Tamminen had a team-high six rebounds.

The real difference in the game was the start. The Griffins came out strong on the defensive end, holding the Heat to just three points through the first frame. MacEwan jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game, before Tamminen scored the Heat’s only points in the quarter on a three-pointer with 6:08 left. The three other baskets in the quarter were for the home side, courtesy of Ivicak and Brielle Wise.

The second quarter went more the Heat’s way, as they outscored the Griffins 15-12. Kennedy scored seven of her points in the frame, leading the Heat to reduce MacEwan’s lead to single digits, at seven, at the break.

The UBC Okanagan Heat (3-14) and the MacEwan Griffins (5-12) will play again Saturday night, with tip-off set for 5 p.m. MST (4 p.m. Pacific) in the MacEwan Gym.

~ Grayson Leahy, UBC Okanagan