Red Deer kicks off ACAC championship tournament with convincing 73-63 win over Keyano

The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens used their trademark stifling defence to kick off the 2023 ACAC Women's Basketball Championships at Lethbridge College with a convincing 73-63 victory over the Keyano College Huskies.

Red Deer, the South's No. 2 seed, came into the tournament as the ACAC's hottest team, riding the crest of a 12-game winning streak since a Nov. 26 loss. The Huskies, seeded third in the South coming into the championships, defeated the Queens in the only regular-season meeting between the teams, a 67-57 decision on Nov. 18. But the Queens were in command through most of the rematch.

What made the difference? "We were healthy and we've been a different team since Christmas," said Queens head coach Avery Harrison. "We've been better defensively and supporting each other better. Keyano had a really cold first half, and the combination of that and us playing really well was hard for Keyano."

Harrison felt the Queen's aggressive defence set the tone for the game, but added, "We got away from that in the second half."

Red Deer built an early 20-5 lead en route to a 28-12 halftime advantage. Red Deer, which topped the ACAC with an average of 18.7 steals per game during the season, forced the Huskies into repeated turnovers and had stretched their margin to 47-25 by halftime. The Queens' veteran guard, Sandra Garcia Bernal (fourth year, Educational Assistant, Valencia, Spain), led the attack with 13 first-half points.

In the third quarter, the Huskies made a game effort to battle back with the help of a few forced turnovers of their own, along with some timely outside shooting. They had trimmed the deficit to 18 points late in the period and went into the final period trailing 66-47.

Keyano continued to fight back through the fourth quarter and was within 12 points, 70-58, with less than four minutes to play. Neither team could pry the lid off the basket during next three minutes until the Huskies scored to make it a 70-60 game with a half minute remaining. Keyano wound up winning the final quarter 16-7 but it wasn't enough to overcome the early deficit.

Garcia Bernal was selected as Player of the Game for Red Deer, finishing with a game-high 19 points. Forward Peighton Melton (second year, Open Studies, Lacombe, Alta.) chipped in with 13 points for Red Deer while  All-Conference First Team guard/forward Amy Szymanek (fourth year, Bachelor of Education, Stauffer, AB) added 12. 

All-Conference Second Team forward Maja Besic (third year, Business Administration, Belgrade) earned Player of the Game honours for Keyano, scoring 14 points. Fellow All-Conference Second Team member Zera Lynn Panesa (fifth year, Business Administration, Winnipeg) led the Huskies with 17 points, while Joy Victor (fourth year, Business Administration, Tortola, British Virgin Islands) contributed 10 points.

Players of the Game: 

Huskies: #21 Maja Besic 

Queens: #23 Sandra Garcia Bernal