The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team capped off another dominant regular season with a weekend doubleheader against the Winnipeg Wesmen, finishing with a 14-2 record overall. 

Both the Huskies and Wesmen entered the weekend with identical 13-1 records, tied for first place in the Canada West conference. The single loss for either team came to each other when the Wesmen hosted the Huskies for two games in Winnipeg on Jan. 28 and 29. With the first seed on the line, the weekend delivered some excellent nail-biting basketball. 

The Wesmen and Huskies lead Canada West in total points per game, at 81 and 78, respectively, but the first game was a defensive battle. The Wesmen led 30-25 at halftime but were held to just 12 points in the second half, as the Huskies completed the comeback to win 54-42. 

The third quarter exemplified the defensive nature of the game, with neither team scoring a field goal until Wesmen guard Anna Kernaghan’s layup almost six minutes into the quarter. 

Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis credited her team’s defensive rebounding as a reason that the Huskies remained competitive when their shots were not falling on the offensive end.

“Kudos to our defence. I thought we did a nice job really upping the intensity and locking them down,” Thomaidis said in a postgame interview with the Sheaf. 

Third-year Huskies guard Carly Ahlstrom shared the same sentiment on the team’s defensive effort. 

“That’s where we got our spark in the second half,” Ahlstrom said. 

Fifth-year forward Summer Masikewich has been the Huskies’ top scorer this season but was forced to be more of a playmaker. She scored nine points, which is just half of her season average of 17.7 points per game.  Thomaidis noted that the Wesmen’s defence was focused on Masikewich. 

“I think they took away some of our strengths and did a good job with their interior defence and made things difficult for Summer,” Thomaidis said. 

Although the Huskies struggled from the field in the first half, Thomaidis said that there was not a significant shift in strategy. 

“I think we have great shooters on this team, and those people have to continue to shoot the ball whether they’ve missed their first five [shots] or not,” Thomaidis said. 

Thomaidis’ trust in her shooters paid off, as it was Ahlstrom who proved to be the catalyst in the Huskies’ comeback. Ahlstrom knocked down three of her four threes in the second half, en route to a game-high 20 points. 

“I definitely think [the threes] came with good timing and I think my teammates found me well,” Ahlstrom said regarding her second-half performance. 

As a shooter, Ahlstrom benefitted from both Masikewich’s and fifth-year guard Libby Epoch’s playmaking, which was the difference maker down the stretch. 

“They are such key players for the team and they create for others, they create for themselves, and it’s just an honour to play with them,” Ahlstrom said. 

In the second game, Ahlstrom kept up her scoring streak. She led the Huskies again, this time with 16 points, while Masikewich and Epoch added 15 and 14 points, respectively. However, the Wesmen were able to outwork the Huskies for 14 second-chance points, which helped them to a 77-64 victory. 

With the Huskies’ loss, the Wesmen earned an identical 14-2 record to conclude the regular season. However, it is the Huskies who secure the first seed because they have a higher head-to-head point differential when considering all four games against the Wesmen. 

The defending national champions now set their sights on a potential repeat, with the Canada West playoffs kicking off with a 17-team tournament from March 4–6. As the first seed, the Huskies will receive a bye to the final round of the tournament, where they will play the winner of the eighth- and ninth-seed matchup. Fans can keep up with the Huskies playoff games on Canada West TV. 

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Uday Chhina | Sports and Health Editor

Photo: Supplied by Nick Saretzky | Contributing Photojournalist