By Kara Giesbrecht

 

Briercrest women’s basketball hung on against Grande Prairie Regional College, the lead remaining just shy of reach in the first half, landing on the wrong side of a 44-66 score. 

The two sides opened on fairly even terms as neither team were able to solidify a lead until Grand Prairie lengthened the 34-24 ten point lead they had at halftime.

Briercrest claimed a short lead early in the first quarter, hanging on until Grande Prairie passed them 8-7.  Down 7-13, Briercrest called a time out and the team came back fighting to reclaim their lead. Claire Richardson got many of the boards, even off her own shot contributing two additional baskets before ending the quarter back 13-14.

Briercrest Player of the game Tracy Frimpong was pleased with how her team did defensively.  

“We just missed a couple rotations and box-outs so they were able to score on the pass. But we did good on stopping the drive the very first time. “
Briercrest kept up with Grand Prairie into the second quarter. Krista Wiens drove the ball in well and sunk a three, closing in18-20.  Grande Prairie pulled away, extending their lead while Briercrest plateaued at 18. Brooke Briscoe’s breakaway highlighted the end of the quarter, Briercrest down 24-34.

Frimpong was on fire in the third quarter, bringing the Clippers from behind 29-36. Briercrest seemed to have trouble catching the momentum, remaining stagnant at 29 while Grande Prairie surged ahead 49-29. Nicole Meyer had the final word of the quarter while Briercrest defense left the door open for Grande Prairie to walk through ending on top 55-31.

“We let a couple turnovers get to us and then we stopped playing as intense on defense and they were able to get easy buckets off some offensive rebounds,” Frimpong explained.

Briercrest came into the fourth quarter strong. Richardson was key in picking up boards in the fourth quarter, as well as dropping in shots of her own. Meghan Friesen drained a three bringing her team up to 37-59. Amy Wanvig, Kennedy Sawatzky and Brooke Briscoe contributed the last of Briercrest’s points, still unable to stop Grande Prairie’s shots ending 44-66.

Players of the game were Grande Prairie’s Amy Kobzey with 13 points and Briercrest’s Tracy Frimpong with a team high 12 points to go with six rebounds and one assist.

Claire Richardson led the game with 13 rebounds. Meghan Friesen and Krista Wiens had a game high three assists. Brooke Briscoe had Briercrest’s only block.

Grande Prairie shot 18-30 (60%) in free throws and Briercrest shot 6-13 (46.2%). Briercrest allowed 34 turnovers while Grande Prairie allowed 15.  Grande Prairie dominated with 17 steals to Briercrest’s six. The teams were nearly even in rebounds, blocks and assists.

The Briercrest Clippers take on Medicine Hat College next Friday, November 1 at 6:00pm in Medicine Hat.

Follow the games online at SportsCanada.tv. Also, be sure to "like" Briercrest Basketball for photos and updates.