Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – In an attempt to limit Alberta's leading scorer Vanessa Wild, the MacEwan Griffins threw a different defensive formation at the Pandas on Thursday night at the David Atkinson Gym.
It certainly gummed up the Pandas' offence early, but the visitors made the necessary adjustments, got on a roll and finished off the Griffins 74-55 in Canada West women's basketball action.
"I just think we focused on our game plan and tried to stay true to who we can be for most of the game," said Alberta head coach Scott Edwards I thought the Griffs came out with an interesting game plan we hadn't really seen before early, but I think we figured it out as the game went along."
As a result, Alberta improves to 11-2 in the standings, while MacEwan falls to 2-11.
MacEwan head coach Katherine Adams had some bright spots on defence, especially early, and the Griffins forced the Pandas into 26 turnovers.
"Definitely, that was our plan to throw something a little bit different at them and force them to respond to something different, which they eventually did get the hang of," said Adams. "I was proud of our girls in their commitment and effort to something we haven't done before."
It only limited Wild for a time, though, as she still managed to lead the Pandas with 17 points and five steals. Morgan Mudge added 10 points and seven rebounds.
"She's having a special season," said Edwards of Wild. "It's fun to watch a fifth-year kid blossom late in her career like this – the last two seasons. She just seems to get hers when she needs it and creates some offence out of her defence, too, which is nice."
Her 17 came with the Griffins playing tough D on her, but Wild's speed in transition wreaked havoc all night.
"To be fair, their leading scorer scored 17, but her shot attempts were reduced," said Adams. "Her points came off of our turnovers. Ultimately, I think that was the difference. We forced them into 26, but we had 30 of our own."
That's something the Pandas are known for, entering the match third in Canada West in forced turnovers, but Edwards was still pleased to see 19 steals on the board for his defence.
"It's a (tradition) in our program to be a tough defensive team," he said. "Tonight, we were able to create a lot of opportunities and get some easy baskets because the Griffins did such a good job in the quarter court we needed something in transition. We were able to get that tonight from turnovers, for sure."
Mackenzie Farmer led the Griffins with 13 points and seven steals, while Darian Mahmi chipped in 12 points and Drew Knox with 11 on 3-for-7 from behind the arc.
"That's the Drew that we've seen in practice and she's getting back into form," said Adams of Knox who returned to the court earlier this month for the first time in nearly three years. "More plays are going to help her get better and better each week. I'm happy today we could increase her minutes and she could get on a roll and hit some shots for us."
Ultimately, the Griffins' strong D of the first half was unable to contain the Pandas, particularly early in the third quarter as the visitors opened up a 25-point lead behind strong ball movement and success both inside and outside.
"I don't want to say pick your poison, but you need to choose what you're going to defend, what you're going to take away and what you're willing to give up," said Adams. "Talented players at this level, they make shots sometimes. We have to live with that with the defensive decisions we made."
The Edmonton rivals will meet again on Saturday (5 p.m., Saville Centre, Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
FREE THROWS ... MacEwan held its annual White Out celebration at half-time, honouring the athletes and teams who've won awards, medals and championships over the past calendar year.
Griffins student-athletes and coaches pose with some of their awards and championships won over the past calendar year during MacEwan Athletics' annual White Out celebration on Thursday at the David Atkinson Gym (Eduardo Perez photo).
