Keyano bounces back from opening round loss to defeat Concordia 71-49 on Friday 

Keyano bounces back from opening round loss to defeat Concordia 71-49 on Friday 

Keyano College Huskies bounced back from an opening-round loss Thursday to post an impressive 71-49 victory over the Concordia University Thunder on Friday in the ACAC Women's Basketball Championships. 

Concordia defeated Keyano twice in January in regular-season play, by scores of 57-47 and 76-46, but the Huskies were a different team on this day. 

"I think after a tough loss yesterday, the girls were really inspired to come back and play hard for each other," said Keyano head coach Dwayne Vigilance. 

The Huskies boast a trio of players who stand above six feet, but one of the keys for the Huskies was a strong defensive effort sparked by several of the team's shorter players. 

"That's why we started three of our smaller players," said Vigilance. "They're really scrappy and get after it and we tried to muck it up a bit. It worked out for us." 

Keyano dominated the boards, outrebounding Concordia 42-29, with Kayla Lutterodt (fifth year, Business Administration - HR, Stony Plain, AB) leading a balanced team effort with nine rebounds. The Huskies also outshot the Thunder from the field, 42 per cent to 32. 

Six-foot-two forward Maja Besic (third year, Business Administration, Belgrade, Serbia) led the Huskies offensively with 21 points. She was followed by Joy Victor (fourth year, Business Administration, Tortola, British Virgin Islands) with 13 points, Casey Gorieu (fourth year, Business Administration, Stony Plain) with 12 and five-foot-two guard Zera Panesa (fifth year, Business Administration, Winnipeg) with 10. 

Concordia's Jenna Rinsky (first year, Bachelor of Science, Leduc) led all scorers with 25 points and was named player of the game for the Thunder. Besic received the honour for Keyano. 

Keyano's win continued a tournament in which, thus far, regular-season results seem to mean little. "Anybody can beat anybody," said Vigilance. 

Keyano held a slim 16-15 edge after a first quarter featuring several lead changes. Concordia's Rinsky led the way with nine points in the period. 

The Huskies outscored the Thunder 19-11 in the second quarter, with scrappy defence and a pair of three-pointers by Gorieu helping them build a 35-26 halftime advantage. 

Keyano ran the lead to 40-26 early in the third quarter when Panesa rebounded her own shot and scored. Concordia shaved the margin to 52-42, but the Huskies replied with a steal which led to a layup by Victor, then an inside basket by Besic for a 57-42 lead at the end of three quarters. 

The Huskies extended their lead to 63-42 three and a half minutes into the final period, an advantage that proved too much for the Thunder to overcome. 

Players of the Game

Thunder: #2 Jenna Rinsky

Huskies: #21 Maja Besic