SASKATON, Sask. - In a matchup of top 10 ranked U SPORTS programs, the ninth ranked University of Saskatchewan Huskies, led by a hot shooting performance from Logan Reider, cruised to a victory against the number five ranked Alberta Pandas, winning by a score of 75-50 this Friday evening at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon.
Defence was on display in the first quarter, as the energy was high, and full court pressure from both teams left little room to operate. Although both teams shot under 35% from the field in the opening quarter, the Huskies were able to put up an additional 10 shots in the quarter, aided by their ability to control the boards and force turnovers on the defensive end. Third year guard Maya Flindall led the way for Saskatchewan in the early going, providing a spark off the bench. Flindall's relentless rim pressure saw her score a layup, earning her two trips to the line. Flindall would finish with 6 in the frame, contributing to Saskatchewan's 21-10 lead after the opening 10.
Flindall would continue her hot start, swishing a three to break the ice in the second quarter. Points continued to be hard to come by, as field goal percentage for both teams dipped below the 30% mark. This was the most competitive quarter, with the Huskies outsourcing the Pandas by a score of 16-15. When Alberta found success they found it inside the paint. Utilizing a height advantage, the Pandas worked the ball down low into Claire Signatovich and Reece Hall, who each finished with nine points on the night. Despite some poor shooting numbers, Alberta found themselves down just 12 points at the half.
On a night where buckets were hard to come by Saskatchewan's Logan Reider put together a stellar performance from behind the arc, propelling the Huskies to victory. The third quarter opened with a nearly 2:00 scoring drought by both teams, until Reider launched one of her signature high-arcing shots that swished effortlessly through the netting. This put the Huskies up 40-27, and they did not look back the rest of the way. Saskatchewan's physical style of play, and intensity on the offensive glass earned them multiple trips to the free throw line which they converted at a 92.9% clip for the contest. Reider would add another tone-setting three, pushing the lead above 20 for the first time later in the quarter. Saskatchewan would not look back for the remainder of the contest, earning a 75-50 victory.
After the game, Reider shared her thoughts on her big night and reflected on the team's winning streak during their home-stand. Always a class act, Logan was quick to credit her teammates for her success.
"Coming off of two losses opening week, we knew we had to put in more work. We proved that we did that tonight. My teammates are the reason that I got open and was able to score, tonight shows that hard work pays off.
We strive when we can run our transition offence, the only way we can do that is by getting stops on defence. That's one of our key focuses for each practice. We've worked hard to improve that from last year, and over the last couple of weeks we've shown what we're capable of."
Up Next:
The two teams will return for a rematch tomorrow afternoon at 5 p.m. The game will once again be played at the Physical Activity Centre in Saskatoon. Catch all the action on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel, or experience the game through the local radio call on HuskieFan.ca.
