To the Wesmen go the spoils

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This article was published 20/01/2018 (2807 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Winnipeg Wesmen have bragging rights over their biggest rivals for the rest of the season.

For the first time in five years, dating back to 2012, the Wesmen defeated the University of Manitoba Bisons in the 27th annual Duckworth Challenge. The challenge, which is decided by total victories after one soccer match and two volleyball games and two basketball games between the crosstown competitors, went distance, with the Wesmen pulling it out in a tiebreaker (2-2-1).

With the Bisons holding a 2-1 edge heading into the weekend (the soccer match earlier in the year finished 0-0 and therefore was inconsequential), a convincing 94-67 win by the Wesmen men’s basketball team Friday night at the Investors Group Athletics Centre ultimately sealed the deal. Winnipeg needed to win by five points to earn the tiebreaker and secure the title. They completed the comeback in style, holding the lead for 39 of the game’s 40 minutes.

Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp was careful before the game to suggest his club held an edge despite a better regular-season record. With the added hype that surrounds these games, with hundreds of fans in attendance, and the emotion of playing a team you share a city with, Schepp knew he wasn’t in for an easy night.

“Sometimes this game is even more important than who finished higher or lower in the standings — it’s did you win that game?” said Schepp. “I can think back in years when Manitoba was much better than Winnipeg and Winnipeg won, and vice versa. It kind of goes out the window for a lot of that stuff because it’s a different environment, a different situation.”

The Wesmen improve to 6-9 on the season, while the Bisons drop to 10-7 to remain in fifth place in the Canada West standings.

Wesmen guard Denzel Lynch-Blair led all scorers with 31 points, shooting 13 for 17 and a perfect four-for-four from the free-throw line. Denzel earned player of the game for Winnipeg, with Justus Alleyn claiming MVP honours for the Bisons.

Winnipeg’s hopes were kept alive earlier in the night after the Wesmen women’s basketball team dominated the Bisons, winning 86-66. What was a close affair through two quarters, with the Wesmen holding a 41-36 edge at halftime, turned into a blowout by the final whistle. Winnipeg opened the third quarter with a 24-0 run and led by as many as 30. Winnipeg guard Antoinette Miller, who led all scorers with 40 points, was named her team’s top player. Taylor Randall got the award for Manitoba.

“For me, the rivalry is deep-rooted. I played five years for the Wesmen and any time you played against the Bisons it was high intensity, emotional,” said Tanya McKay, now in her 22nd season as Winnipeg’s coach. “As a coach now it’s the same. The kids are into it, the crowd is absolutely awesome. Fans got to see really good women’s basketball tonight. Manitoba came out and they played hard.”

The Bisons stormed out with a pair of victories on the volleyball court Thursday to gain the upper hand in the Challenge.

U of M’s Kearley Abbott registered a match-high 14 kills to pace the women’s squad to a 3-0 victory (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) over the host Wesmen at the Duckworth Centre. Her sister, Josie Abbott, added seven kills, while Cassie Busan had 11 digs and Tori Studler notched a match-high four aces.

Madison Fyvie finished with 12 digs for the Wesmen, while Emma Parker had seven kills and 11 digs. Kalena Schulz and Ashleigh Laube had five kills apiece.

Later Thursday evening, U of W’s Adrian Dyck had a match-high 21 kills and Daniel Thiessen added 20, but it wasn’t enough as the host Wesmen dropped a 3-1 (25-17, 27-25, 24-26, 25-21) decision to the Bisons. Scott Vercaigne led Manitoba with 16 kills, while middle blocker Dustin Spiring added 10 kills on 15 swings and had a team-high eight digs.

The Bisons lead the all-time Duckworth series with a 14-7-6 record.

 

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton