Jason Hills, Golden Bears and Pandas Athletics
EDMONTON — The University of Alberta Pandas swept their weekend series on Saturday night and they're showing that they could be a program that does some serious damage in the post-season.
Third-year guard Emma Kary had a monster game, leading the Pandas with 29 points and nine rebounds in an 85-75 win over the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves at Saville Community Sports Centre.
Kary's 29 points is a new career-high, but it wasn't just Kary doing the damage. Sophomore guard Jenna Harpe had 16 points, fourth-year guard Vanessa Wild scored 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists, and third-year guard Megan Tywoniuk tallied 13 points as well as five rebounds.
Alberta has won 12 straight games and improve their record to 14-2, while UNBC drops to 9-7 in conference play. Senior power forward Vasiliki Louka led UNBC with 23 points and nine rebounds.
"We have (Emma Kary and Vanessa Wild) who've led our team in scoring all year, but every night we're getting someone different step up and that's positive heading into the playoffs," said Pandas head coach Scott Edwards.
"I love this group right now. They don't know who it will be, I don't know who it will be, but somebody is willing to do it."
UNBC got off to a strong start in the opening quarter, but Alberta went on a 14-4 run to break the game open. Despite falling behind, the Timberwolves hung around and continued to battle their way back into the game. The Pandas held a double-digit lead for most of the second and third quarters, but UNBC went on a big 20-9 run to tie the game at 57-57 midway through the third quarter, but weren't able to keep the momentum going.
Harpe hit a clutch three-pointer to make it 62-57 and Wild hit from downtown to give the Pandas a 9-0 run and a 66-59 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"Their runs are hard to play against," said Timberwolves assistant coach Mark Johnson. "They're so skilled top through bottom. If one girl has a quiet night, the next night she steps up and score.
"They have so many weapons; they can go on those runs because you focus your attention on their key players and someone else comes up big. Their depth is hard to prepare for."
For the second-straight night, UNBC was tough to put away, but Kary went on a mini-scoring binge in the late stages, scoring seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
"It was a special night for her," said Edwards. "She's a great player and she's had so many consistent 18-20 points games and has been quiet lately; it was nice for her to have a big game."
Defensively, the work of Kary, Tywoniuk, Wild, and Brooklyn Legault in the fourth quarter was key in the win.
"It was a good growth from us to see us lock down after a big momentum swing," said Edwards. "We had to really fight back and battle to the end and that was great to see."
The Pandas will look to continue their red-hot streak when they travel to Saskatoon to take on their archrival Saskatchewan Huskies for a weekend series in a battle for first place, while UNBC travels to Vancouver to face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.