By Jeremy Siggelkow

In the 1^st quarter, the Kodiak’s started off with a loud cheer, as Briercrest responded loudly with a confidence cheer of their own. This commenced the game, as Amy Wanvig, from Briercrest tipped the ball off towards Briercrest teammates. Thus, leading to Briercrest winning the toss up. Shortly thereafter; Lethbridge gained possession, quickly. Later, Leah Ekubazgi, shot a powerful 3-point shot representing Lethbridge’s thunder; while Lauren Janzen, from Briercrest, pushed back with a shot on Lethbridge’s net, but it didn’t make its way into the hoop.

Later on, Jill Ehman, brought up the score, which brought Briercrest into the lead, giving Briercrest a score advantage of 6-4. Not long after, Lethbridge pushed back, changing the scoreboard to an even tie of 6-6. The teams fought neck-and-neck, both teams working hard to overcome their opponents. However, with about 7 minutes left on the clock, Briercrest lost the lead, and Lethbridge pulled ahead with an 8-6 advantage. After a short break, Leah Ekubazgi, from Lethbridge, led the play with impressive ball handling skills. But, it was Logan Moncks nice maneuvers who finished the play, putting the ball in the net. As the 1^st quarter continued, Briercrest fought hard to equalize the game, and maintain strong defence. They worked hard, but eventually lost control, resulting in a 16-6 advantage, for Lethbridge. With two minutes left, Cassidy Babe, led the ball into Lethbridge’s end with confidence, dribbling around every player, but she didn’t make it to the net. Later on, Lethbridge jumped to an advantage of 33-7.

In the 2^nd quarter, Lauren Janzen, commanded the ball into action for Briercrest. Not long after, only 20 seconds in, Amy Wanvig scored the first point in the 2^nd quarter for Briercrest. This brought the score up to 35-11. Shortly after, Lethbridge powerfully advanced on Briercrest’s net with a nice break away, but they were shut out by Briercrest, and missed their shot. Directly following, Briercrest got the jump on Lethbridge and pushed back with a solid shot. Luckily, the layup was good, as Lauren Janzen, brought the scoreboard up to 43-17, with Lethbridge still in the lead. Next, lead player Leah Ekubazgi, who was a strong proponent for Lethbridge, dribbled the ball effectively down the court, but she was fouled. She scored her 1^st and 2^nd foul shot on Briercrest’s net, aiming her shots with precision.

In the 3^rd quarter, Leah Ekubazgi, chimed in the action, by throwing an incredible 3-point shot on Briercrest’s net. She was close, but she missed. Following directly after, Emma Lowry, pushed back with a great lay up taking the scoreboard to 57-27, with the advantage for Lethbridge. Later on, Cassidy Babe, was subbed into the game, again. She was a strong asset to Briercrest, and proved to be a lead player all through-out the game, looking strong, determined and ready to change the course of the game for Briercrest. With strong ball-handling skills, and tactful maneuvers, she worked her way up and down the court with great skill. Other lead players were Lauren Janzen, who often rushed back with great speed, and provided incredible defense against the opposing efforts of Leah Ekubazgi, one of the lead players for Lethbridge.

However, despite all their hard efforts, Lethbridge continued to sneak through their defense. With 5 minutes left, Lethbridge scored another point bringing the scoreboard to 68-30 for Lethbridge. Lauren Janzen and Cassidy Babe teamed up as the lead players of the 3^rd quarter fighting to change the tides of the game. Later on, Cassidy Babe continued to impresses the audience even further as she put two foul shots right in the basket, bringing the score up to 72-32, for Lethbridge. With 51 seconds left Lethbridge led the final play of the 3^rd quarter as Briercrest continued to push back from every angle of the court in an attempt to push Lethbridge out. Finally, Cassidy Babe led the final 30 seconds of game by making an impressive pass off to, Jill Ehman, but they were pushed back.

In the 4^th quarter, Leah Ekubazgi continued to lead the game with skill and great intensity, as Lethbridge continues in the lead, bringing the score to 80-36. After Lauren Janzen was subbed off for a break, Cassidy Babe was subbed on to the court, she led strong, guarding her opponents cautiously and competently as lead player Leah Ekubazgi brought the ball into Briercrest side often. Later on in the game, once Cassidy Babe was subbed off, Leah Ekubazgi, and Lauren Janzen duked it out, hanging on every move their opponent made. Not long after, Lauren Janzen broke free of her opponents and led a strong play scoring an impressive 3-pointer. With three minutes left another lead player, Shayna Mathison, shot a foul shot that brought Lethbridge into the triple digits, with a score of 102-44. With 39 seconds left, Briercrest held on strong, never once hanging their heads in defeat. But not even the final basket they scored, in the last few seconds, as the buzzer sounded, could gain them victory for their hard efforts as Lethbridge won 105-48.

Jill Ehman was Briercrest Player of the Game with a team high eight points and five rebounds.

For up to date information on the Briercrest Women’s Basketball team and Briercrest Athletics, “like” us on Facebook or at gobriercrest.ca. To watch games online go to acactv.ca