Bisons women finally beat U of W

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This article was published 27/10/2023 (731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For a pre-season game, Friday night’s Manitoba-Winnipeg university women’s basketball matchup was oozing with playoff atmosphere.

It was easy to understand why.

The Bisons, who had not beaten the Wesmen in more than nine years and were losers of 32 consecutive games to their cross-town rivals, were eager to put a stop to Winnipeg’s domination. The Wesmen were just as motivated to keep the victory train rolling.

It proved to be Manitoba’s night — finally.

With fourth-year forward Emerson Martin scoring 19 points and grabbing three rebounds and University of Regina transfer Treyah Paquette adding 19 points, three assists and three rebounds, the Bisons rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to beat the Wesmen 74-65 at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

“Obviously it’s game we wanted to win,” said Bisons fifth-year guard Lauren Bartlett. “I know I’ve wanted to beat the U of W my whole university career. It’s always a fun atmosphere and everyone was super excited. I think everyone played well.”

Meanwhile, in an action-packed men’s game featuring eight lead changes, Colin O’Hara’s layup with 3.7 seconds remaining lifted Manitoba to a 92-91 triumph over Winnipeg.

“I’ve been here long enough that you try to never get too high or too low,” said Bisons women’s head coach Michele Sung after her first career win over the Wesmen. “But when you’re playing a rivalry game, there’s a lot of emotion. I always go back to, ‘Did you deserve to win?’ and I felt like we’ve done the work.”

Pacquette, a former Glenlawn Collegiate star, was playing only her fourth game in a Manitoba uniform. As a U Sports rookie in 2022-23, she played four games for Regina’s basketball team before suffering a season-ending concussion and also suited up for half a season with the Cougars soccer squad before sustaining a back injury.

After making the decision to transfer, Paquette had to appeal to have the normal 365-day waiting period waived; her wish was granted prior to last weekend’s games.

On Friday, Paquette proceeded to hit her first seven shots and finished the night by going five-for-six from behind the three-point line, providing a major boost for Manitoba as it moved out to a 34-32 halftime lead.

“We came out wanting to win, but honestly, we just stuck to our game plan and we knew coming in if we stuck to our game plan, we would win,” said Pacquette. “That was the biggest thing. Obviously, it feels good to beat them…

“We are a very good three-point shooting team so if we just continue to work on everything else I think is all going to come together and we can beat some very good teams,” said Paquette.

Paquette’s scoring touch should help to alleviate some of the offensive pressure on Barlett.

“She’s an awesome player and I was so happy when she decided to come to U of M,” said Bartlett, who chipped in with four points, five assists and six rebounds. “Having her really provides a good dynamic on the floor — it really opens things up. Obviously shooting-wise, she was lights out. It was awesome to see and we really needed that. She’s a great addition.”

With Kyanna Giles, Robyn Boulanger, Julia Schatkowsky and Raizel Guinto graduating in the off-season, a youthful Winnipeg squad is in rebuilding mode early in 2023-24.

Tana Layton had a game-high 21 points for the Wesmen, who got 11 points each from Anna Kernaghan and Raia Guinto.

Manitoba, meanwhile, returned four of its five starters while adding Paquette and rookie forward Anna Miko, playing like a veteran, scoring eight points Friday.

“I think it’s great for our game and I think it’s great for basketball in the city,” said Sung. “It’s kind of fun. It also was nice because you’re stimulating the emotions and the intensity what it will be like in the regular season, right?”

Bisons 92 Wesmen 91

Even with star guard Shawn Maranan sidelined with an undisclosed injury, Winnipeg moved out to a 48-42 lead to intermission.

Mason Kraus led the Bisons with 21 points and eight assists, while Daren Watts and Simon Hildebrandt chipped in with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

Donald Stewart had 17 points and seven rebounds for the visitors. Winnipeg’s Kato Jaro added 16 points and Emmanuel Thomas had 14.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca