Photo Credit: Chris Uhl

CANADA WEST FINAL FOUR PREVIEW2010-03-02

Burnaby, B.C. – Beginning Friday night, the No. 1 ranked Simon Fraser University Clan women’s basketball team will begin defending their Canada West crown as they host the 2010 edition of the Canada West Final Four. The No. 4 ranked University of Regina Cougars, No. 8 ranked University of Alberta Pandas, and the No. 3 ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies have all qualified for the dance, and with three berths to the CIS National Championships on the line and all four teams ranked in the top-ten in the CIS, the competition is expected to be heated.

SFU will open the tournament hosting Saskatchewan at 6:15 pm on Friday night, while the Pandas and Cougars square off at 8:15 pm. The winners of the two respective games will play on Saturday night at 7 pm, while the bronze medal elimination game will take place on Saturday at 5 pm.

A look at the four teams:

Simon Fraser University Clan
CIS Ranking: One
2009-10 Canada West Record: 17-1

It’s easy to see why the No.1 ranked Clan are the favourite heading into the 2010 Canada West Final Four. Playing at home, the Clan haven’t lost a game in the West Gym since a preseason 71-47 loss to the LSU Tigers in August of 2008, and have only lost two twice in the past two seasons to a CIS opponent, both times against the University of Victoria.

SFU qualified for the Canada West Final Four by sweeping the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in two lopsided games this past weekend, including holding Winnipeg to just one point in the first quarter of Saturday’s 96-49 win to advance. The Clan have defeated all three teams at the Final Four this season, all three times on the road, including defeating Friday’s opponent Saskatchewan 67-58 in a meeting in early January.

The Clan are led offensively in the series by fourth-year seniors Robyn Buna (Kelowna, B.C.) and Laurelle Weigl (Stony Plain, AB), tied for the team lead in the regular season with 14.3 points per game respectively. Buna is perhaps the best pure scorer in the CIS, shooting 48.9 per cent from beyond the arc in the regular season, while Weigl, a member of the Canadian Senior National Team, has an array of moves in the low post.

The Clan also boast the two top assist-to-turnover ratio performers in the Canada West in Katie Miyazaki (Richmond, B.C.) and Kristina Collins (Port Coquitlam, B.C.). Miyazaki, a shutdown defender for the Clan, is posting a 1.9 assist to turnover ratio, while freshman Collins registered 1.6 assist to turnover average.

The Clan are both the defending CIS and Canada West Champions.

University of Saskatchewan Huskies
CIS Ranking: Three
2009-10 Canada West Record: 14-6

When looking at the Canada West Final Four observers may question how the No. 1 and No. 3 ranked teams in the CIS are playing on Friday night in the semifinals of the Final Four. For the Saskatchewan Huskies, the reason stems back to two close early season road losses against UBC (68-65 in OT) and Victoria (58-52), where in a tight Prairie Division the Huskies finished two games out of first place, and one behind Alberta for second.

Because of their third place positioning in the Prairie Division, the Huskies were forced to travel to Victoria last weekend (the two seed in the Pacific Division), but behind star scorer Lindsay DeGroot, swept through the Vikes in two to advance to the Final Four.

DeGroot, who transferred to Saskatchewan this season, finished the regular season seventh in the CIS in scoring, averaging 18.8 points per game, and scored 22 and 23 points in the Huskies two wins over the Vikes. Kim Tulloch (12.0 ppg) and Jill Humbert (8.5 ppg) provide secondary scoring for a team that has been to the CIS Championships four of the last five seasons. The Huskies are 3-2 against teams at the Final Four in 2009-10.

University of Regina Cougars
CIS Ranking: Four
2009-10 Canada West Record: 16-4

The University of Regina Cougars qualified for the Final Four by sweeping the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns 2-0 last weekend and were the regular season leaders in the Prairie Division. However, the Cougars lost their final two games of the regular season to Saskatchewan in a home (70-60) and away (88-67) series, dropping behind the Huskies in the CIS rankings. Their only two other losses in the regular season were to SFU (81-65) and to UBC (76-63).

Last season Regina hosted the CIS Championships, and made the final before falling to SFU for the national crown. The Cougars lost leader Chelsea Cassano to graduation, however post Brittany Read has stepped up her game significantly this season, scoring a team high 14.4 points per game in the regular season. Joanna Zalesiak is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game, while Linsday Ledingham is averaging 9.3 points per game.

The Cougars also possess significant depth at the guard spot, particularly with Gabrielle Gheyssen, Stacey Walker and Rebecca Schmidt all attempting over 70 three-pointers this year. Regina holds a 2-3 record against Final Four teams this season. The Cougars are the last team to beat SFU at a Final Four, having defeated the Clan 84-79 in the semifinals in 2008.

University of Alberta Pandas
CIS Ranking: Eight
2009-10 Canada West Record: 15-5

After finishing second in the Prairie Division, the Alberta Pandas had the toughest road to the Canada West Final Four of any of the qualifying teams, with their best-of-three series against the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds coming down to the wire. Emily Bolduc however lifted Alberta past the Thunderbirds in the series finale, scoring a career high 27 points to lead the Pandas to a 80-78 game three win.

Facing the Cougars on the opening night of the series will be a difficult task for the Pandas, as Regina swept Alberta in the season series (68-64, 80-68). The Pandas are 1-4 against Canada West Final Four teams this season, and have not played against any of the Final Four teams outside of Edmonton.

A characteristic of head coach Scott Edwards’ Pandas’ teams has been their balanced offensive output, and 2009-10 has been no different, with five players averaging over eight points per game. Leading the way is Marisa Haylett, averaging 14.0 points per game, while Nicole Clarke (13.1) and Bolduc (12.1) are also averaging over ten points per game. Anneka Bakker is the Pandas’ leading rebounder, averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. The Pandas made the CIS semifinals last season and won the bronze medal by defeating Windsor 64-62 on the final day of the championship.

2010 Final Four Schedule
All games available on Clan TV
Live stats are also available

Friday, March 5
6:15 pm – SFU vs. Saskatchewan
8:15 pm – Regina vs. Alberta

Saturday, March 6
5 pm – Bronze Medal Game
7 pm – Gold Medal Game