Game Information
Date: Thursday, Feb. 14, Friday, Feb. 15 & Saturday, Feb. 16 (if necessary)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Saskatoon, SK
Venue: PAC
Get in the Action:
Tickets
Watch Live:
Canadawest.tv
[DOWNLOAD GAME NOTES]
SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team will begin their quest towards a return to the Canada West Championship on Thursday night when they welcome the Winnipeg Wesmen to the PAC.
Saskatchewan has the luxury of staying in Saskatoon for the entirety of their postseason run, with the program locking up the number one overall seed in the Canada West, assuring them home-court advantage for the playoffs.
Winnipeg enters the matchup as the underdog, but the team is no stranger to pulling off the upset. The 12th seeded Wesmen traveled to the West Coast this past weekend and defeated the fifth seeded UBC Thunderbirds by a score of 67-64.
Saskatchewan and Winnipeg played on Nov. 16 and 17 in Winnipeg, with the Huskies recording the sweep thanks to back-to-back convincing victories on the road. The visitors won 86-37 on Friday night, with
Megan Ahlstrom paving the way with 19 points.
Sabine Dukate chalked 21 points the following night in a 68-49 win to seal the successful road trip for the Huskies. The Huskies and Wesmen also met last season in the quarter-finals, with the three-game series going to the distance before Saskatchewan prevailed.
5 Things
1: The Huskies will be chasing their sixth consecutive Canada West Championship appearance, with three titles in the last five seasons.
2: Fans under the age of 18 will receive a complimentary ticket to the game on Friday night.
3: The Huskies and Wesmen squared up at the PAC in the 2017-18 postseason, with Saskatchewan taking down the visitors two-to-one in the best-of-three series.
4: Faith Hezekiah will be the player to watch this weekend for Winnipeg. The fourth-year forward's 23.8 points-per-game this regular season was first in the Canada West and second in U SPORTS.
5: Saskatchewan was able to limit Hezekiah's scoring output to 10 points on 3-17 shooting and 14 points on 6-19 shooting when the team's matched up earlier this season in Winnipeg.
By the Numbers
0.646 – Despite not having the best record in the conference, the Huskies finished as the number one overall seed due to their 0.646 RPI, which is a mathematic formula that factors in strength of schedule.
5 – Saskatchewan finished the year as the fifth-ranked team in U SPORTS and number one ranked team in the Canada West.
67 – Sabine Dukate led the nation in three-pointers made this regular season with 67.
81.3 – The Huskies balanced scoring attack led the Canada West with 81.3 points per game this season.
Scouting the Wesmen
Head coach Tanya Mckay will guide the University of Winnipeg Wesmen women's basketball team into their third consecutive postseason appearance. The Wesmen were bounced by the Huskies on quarterfinal weekend at this time last season and will be looking to avenge their loss.
Winnipeg is in the midst of their first season without 2016-17 & 2017-18 First-Team All-Canadian guard Antoinette Miller, who graduated from the program after last year.
Hezekiah has stepped up in the absence of Miller, with the East St. Paul, MB native leading the team in points and rebounds.
Farrah Castillo and Jessica Dyck started all 20 games this season for the Wesmen. Castillo led the team in assists with 4.0 per game, while also chipping in 9.9 points per game this season. Dyck chipped in 9.3 points in her second year with the program.
