Pandas make quick work of Bobcats

Halle Penner threw the first punch, but the Alberta Pandas responded with a 40-minute onslaught.

The Brandon University Bobcats learned what the No. 2-ranked team in U Sports women’s basketball can do firsthand on Friday night, as they lost their Canada West contest 93-47 at the Healthy Living Centre.

“The eye-opener is if we really work in practice, we can get there. A team of this calibre is something we want to get to at one point, so it’s seeing that it is possible for a team to get there,” Penner said.

“We definitely did some really good things. Obviously, there’s things we need to work on. This team’s one of the best in the country, so it’s going to be a battle every time we play them, but I think there were some moments in there we can really build off of for the future.”

The Bobcats (0-3) wasted no time attacking, taking the opening tip straight to the rim as Taya Clark hit Penner for an open shot. Clark then dished to Penner for a long jumper to go up 4-0.

That was the only lead Brandon took all night. Alberta (1-0) rattled off a 17-0 run over the next couple of minutes, pouring in one three-pointer after another.

BU broke the run with yet another Clark drive-and-dish to Penner.

“I’m her locker mate in the change room, so we’ve built chemistry not only on the court but off the court,” Penner said. “That’s really helped on the court with knowing where she’s going to be and me filling in behind her and getting those open looks.”

Along the way, the Bobcats learned an important lesson — that what are usually simple tasks on the court can become painstaking chores.

Dribbling the ball up the floor requires every ounce of focus against the Pandas’ full-court pressure, and simply boxing out isn’t good enough to secure a rebound against their length.

In stretches, BU brought the necessary intensity to keep pace, as Josephine Odude scored on a few strong drives and Ivy Bestland added four points to cut the deficit to 32-16 after 10 minutes.

The Pandas cooled off in the second quarter, while the Bobcats limited their second-chance opportunities. Alberta scored just 10 points in the first seven minutes of the frame, but limited Brandon to nine.

Abbey Shand did most of the work on offence for BU, getting to the free-throw line a few times and scoring eight points in the quarter.

Odude completed a three-point play before the Pandas answered on the other end in the dying seconds of the first half to make it 50-31.

The third quarter started much like the first, unfortunately for Brandon. Shand scored quickly, then the Bobcats went ice cold for seven minutes.

The Pandas weren’t shooting the lights out, but had one hot stretch during another 17-0 run to stretch the lead to 67-33.

The Bobcats hit a few shots but still trailed 75-38 heading to the fourth.

In the final frame, the Pandas simply worked the ball around and hit the open three-pointers they created. On the other end, they gave the Bobcats nothing.

U of A hit 14 of 35 from deep while BU made just two of 14.

Annacy Palmer led all scorers with 21 points, while Reece Hall added 17 for the Pandas.

Shand paced BU with 12 points, with Penner adding 11.

Penner played a team-high 26 minutes. The Basketball Manitoba AAA player of the year for 2026 is proving she can adjust quickly in her rookie year.

“It’s not my biggest jump. My biggest jump was going into basketball because I started in Grade 9 and was thrown right into varsity,” Penner said. “I had to adjust really quickly to the pace and didn’t have the time in junior varsity to understand the game.

“I took that mindset and brought it here.”

The Bobcats and Pandas meet again today at 5 p.m.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com