No. 3 Wesmen to face Laval in Final 8 hoops tournament
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/03/2022 (1590 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The University of Winnipeg Wesmen earned their trip to the U Sports Women’s Final 8 Basketball Tournament more than a week ago.
On Sunday afternoon, the third-seeded Wesmen finally learned they will be facing the No. 6 Laval Rouge et Or in Thursday’s national quarter-finals in Kingston, Ont.
Laval, led by point guard Sabrini Khelifi and 6-2 post Leah Dominica, will be a formidable opponent.
“They’re tough, they’re deep, they’re very athletic,” said Wesmen coach Tanya McKay of Quebec champs. “They’d like to run. They transition and attack the rim and shoot a lot of threes.”
The Wesmen, who are going to Kingston by virtue of their second-place finish in Canada West, could face the defending national champion Saskatchewan Huskies in the semifinals.
No. 2 Saskatchewan, which won three of five head-to-head matchups with Winnipeg including the conference final on home court March 26, will face the host Queen’s Gaels, seeded seventh.
The 17-0 Ryerson Rams, who defeated Saskatchewan in the only meeting between the teams this seasoin, are ranked No. 1 and will meet the UPEI Panthers in the quarter-finals. The fourth-seeded Brock Badgers and the No. 5 Acadia Axewomen round out the opening day match-ups.
McKay said she wasn’t bothered by the possibility of facing a conference rival such as the Huskies in Saturday’s second round.
“No, it’s a draw,” said McKay. “We’re excited to go and we’re excited for our first round and we’ve got to focus on Laval.”
A potential national final pitting Ryerson against Winnipeg Sunday is a very tantalizing prospect. It would put star Wesmen guard Kyanna Giles on the floor against her sister Kyia, a Ryerson guard, for first time in their careers. The twins have been teammates throughout their high school and university careers.
“They’re pretty tough,” said McKay of the Ryerson. “(Coach Carly Clarke’s) been part of the national team program and so she’s been able to get players over the years that have been part of the national team program. So she’s got a good team.”
McKay said her squad should be well-prepared for the trip east.
“The kids are healthy and ready to go,” said McKay, whose squad flies to Kingston Tuesday. “We’re coming off a good, restful weekend. We’re back at it Monday. We’ll get a good practice on Monday and then it’s just about being there and and doing what we’ve got to do. We have do our jobs. And if we do them well, we give ourselves a great opportunity.”
mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @sawa14