Moose Jaw’s Libby Epoch scored 12 points on 4-for-11 shooting as the University of Saskatchewan Huskies defeated the Acadia Axemen 77-67 in their opening game at the USport women’s national basketball championship Thursday.
Epoch added five rebounds and five assists as the third-seeded Huskies found themselves trailing 14-13 after the first quarter but outscored Acadia 25-14 in the second to take a 38-28 lead into the half. Acadia would pull back within six after the break but would get no closer as U of S advances to Saturday’s semifinal.
Their opponent in that contest, second-seeded McMaster, took an 86-68 win over Concordia in their quarter-final.
In the fourth quarter-final on Thursday, Moose Jaw’s Macaela Crone did everything she could to push the University of Regina Cougars through their quarter-final against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees as they dropped a 65-63 decision.
Crone scored 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists to lead the Cougars. She nearly picked up an assist on what would have been the game-tying play in the game’s final seconds, as the second-year forward’s tipped pass found guard Faith Reid in the corner. Reid battled through a double team to create an open lay-up but missed, and forward Christina McCusker unable to put back the rebound before the buzzer.
The play would have capped an epic comeback, as the Cougars trailed by as much as 13 in the game, including 34-27 at the half, but outscored Ottawa 22-15 in the third and 17-13 in the fourth.
The Cougars are back in action tonight when they take on Ryerson in the consolation semifinal.
