Ranked top in the country, the women’s basketball team has been fighting hard to maintain their shining 14-0 season record as they are a month away from the Canada West quarter finals. 

Also with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs is the men’s hockey team, who are ranked third in Canada. Besides team ranking, the Huskie athletes are setting career records and playing hard with a month left in the season.

Track and field at the Golden Bear Open

For the 60-metre run, Daniele Dyck got second. Courtney Hufsmith earned second in the 600 metre and is ranked sixth nationwide in this event. Jared Welsh who is ranked eighth in Canada for the men’s 1,000 metre came in second for that event.

In the 300-metre event, Kendra Farmer took second in the women’s run with a time of 39.74 seconds, while Jacob Murphy took third in men’s with a 35.39 seconds. Farmer is ranked sixth in Canada and Murphy is ranked 11th.

In the team events, the women’s 4×400 metre relay won first place with runners Brianna Andrews, Farmer, Leadan Chartier and Hufsmith. They are ranked second in the country, two seconds behind the University of Guelph. 

The men’s 4×200 metre relay team also made first. The team is made up of Karson Lehner, Murphy, Michael Akintunde and Kenneth McGovern. They are first in the country, just milliseconds ahead of the Trinity Western University team.

In the heptathlon event, Huskies Masson Altrogge, Brendan Ritchie and Landon Kohle placed fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Ashlyn Mooney made fourth in the women’s pentathlon and is ranked third in the country.

The Huskies were third in both men’s and women’s pole vault with Chartier making 3.7 metres and Scott McKerracher making 4.42 metres. First-year Akintunde received first in men’s long jump with 7.1 metres. In women’s, Farmer made third with 5.6 metres.

In men’s weight throw, Carter Cheveldayoff made third with 15.69 metres while Emmarae Dale earned fourth in women’s with 14.59 metres. In shot put, Brennan Degenhardt made third with 15.91 metres. 

Some of the Huskie athletes will go on to compete again this weekend in the Knights of Columbus Games at the Saskatoon Field House.

Women’s basketball vs. Manitoba Bisons

By holding the University of Manitoba Bisons at 43 points in both matches, the Huskies won both games with more than a 30-point margin. 

They pulled ahead early in the first game, not letting their opponents catch up at any point and made the most out of their turnovers. By playing hard until the end of the fourth quarter, the Huskies captured 22 points to rack up a total of 74.

Summer Masikewich had a great game on Jan. 18 when she made 11 rebounds and earned 29 points. Vera Crooks squeaked 11 rebounds and eight points during the Jan. 19 game. 

The powerhouse that is the Huskies women’s basketball team looks unstoppable. We will find out this weekend whether their streak lasts once they face their toughest competition, the Calgary Dinos, who are right behind the Huskies in the national ranking. 

Almost indistinguishable, the Huskies and the Dinos both have 14-0 season record and 28 points. The Huskies will do whatever they can to maintain their gleaming record, making this game one of the biggest clashes of the season. 

The games start at 6 p.m. on Jan. 24 and 5 p.m. on Jan. 25 at the Physical Activity Complex.

Men’s basketball vs. Manitoba Bisons

While away at the University of Manitoba, the men split both games with only a thin margin. 

Huskies got on the board with 10 points in the first three minutes of the first game, but they were not able to leverage their momentum. The second quarter was neck-and-neck, but by the end of the third quarter the Bisons were outplaying the Huskies just enough to grasp the win with 72-75.

Some star players from last weekend are forward Maxwell Amoafo, who made 10 rebounds and 8 points, and guard JT Robinson, who scored 25 points with an efficient 52.9 per cent field goal percentage and was perfect on the charity stripe.  

The Huskies had a redemption in game two. Guards Alexander Dewar and JT Robinson snagged 21 points each. Emmanuel Akintunde’s performance was the most notable with seven rebounds and six free throws. He put 17 points on the board during the game. With only five seconds left on the clock in overtime, Akintunde’s two-point layup pulled the dogs ahead, winning the game 89-87.

The Huskies are carrying a 10-4 season record going into their face-off against the Calgary Dinos. Their opponents are undefeated with 14 wins under their belt and are ranked first in Canada West. 

Women’s hockey vs. Calgary Dinos

On the ice at Merlis Belsher, the women’s team earned their fourth consecutive win against the top team in the western conference, the Calgary Dinos. 

Stalemate was the name of the first game of the weekend. A winner could not be determined until defense Leah Bohlken scored in the fourth round of the shootout, claiming the first victory of the weekend. 

During the second game, forward Kennedy Brown scored a goal in the first period while goaltender Jessica Vance encored her tremendous performance from the night before, keeping the sheet clean for the dogs. Vance’s 40-save weekend not only earned her two shutouts but also moves her up to the second place in the Canada West history for the most shutouts.

The Huskies were able to minimize the gap between them and the Dinos by winning two games, changing their 10-point gap to a six-point gap. Now they have a guaranteed playoff spot in third place of the Canada West standings.

The team heads to the University of British Columbia this weekend. Although the Thunderbirds are in sixth place in Canada West rankings,  the Huskies were defeated in both games at home the last time they faced off.

Men’s hockey vs. Calgary Dinos

The men’s team earned two wins during their road games in Calgary. With Levi Cable making the first goal, Jared Dmytriw scoring two in the second period and Carson Stadnyk making the fourth, the dogs won 4-0. 

Goaltender Taran Kozun deflected all 35 shots on net in both the Jan. 17 and 18 games. In fact, Kozun even scored a goal in game two during the third period. Stacking up three points, Kohl Bauml and Stadnyk made the first two and Kozun made the last.  

The men’s team is hosting the UBC Thunderbirds on Jan. 24 and 25 at Merlis Belsher Place.

Women’s volleyball vs. Winnipeg Wesmen

This weekend series was a win and lose situation for the Huskies team with a 3-2 on Jan. 17 and a 2-3 on Jan. 18 against the Wesmen.

It brought them at a tie for fifth with the University of Alberta in Canada West standings.

Second-year Averie Allard achieved a season high during last weekend’s series, making 16 digs in the first game. 

Fourth-year Emily Koshinsky, an outside hitter, made some season highs as well, capturing 18 kills and 15 digs in the first game.

The women’s team are off to Regina to play the Cougars. With their 2-14 record, this should be an easy weekend for the team.

Men’s volleyball vs. Winnipeg Wesmen

The team was met with a similar fate as the women’s team, winning on Jan. 17 with 3-1 and losing the Jan. 18 match 1-3. 

The Wesmen are placed fifth in the Canada West standings while the dogs are in seventh place with eight games won and eight games lost.

Fourth-year setter CJ Gavlas moved past Cole Hintz’s career record, capturing 2591 career assists. 

The dogs will recoup before heading off to Calgary to face off with the Mount Royal Cougars next weekend. 

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Nykole King/ Editor-in-Chief

Photo: Yasmine El-Gayed