Shand, Bobcats drop opener to Wesmen

Abbey Shand came to Brandon University as one of the best pure scorers Churchill High School girls’ basketball had seen in a long time.

The Brandon University Bobcats knew it, and it may not be long before the rest of Canada West is aware.

However, it will take more than a 20-point night from the third-year Winnipeg native for BU to find success. They lost 83-66 to the Winnipeg Wesmen in their Canada West women’s basketball season opener at the Healthy Living Centre on Friday.

“Our plan was to come out strong, hit first, just set the tone for the first part of the season,” Shand said. “There’s going to be dips, but we’ve just got to make sure we stick together. I think we did a pretty good job of that (Friday), just didn’t get the outcome.”

Shand spent a few seasons watching former Bobcat Piper Ingalls develop into one of the best scorers in Canada West, and while Shand’s not necessarily trying to flat-out replace her, she won’t shy away from a larger role on offence.

“I learned a lot from Piper watching her for the past couple of years, so just taking what I learned from here and getting more comfortable in whatever role. Whatever game it is, it could be anybody’s game,” Shand said.

“My teammates kept feeding me, so that’s how it goes, just hot hand, but whoever it is on any given night is where we want to go.”

The Bobcats’ help defence was a step behind early as Jazmin Birch and Jennifer Kallon were taking clear paths to the rim for easy layups.

Where BU’s defence was sharp, though, was in aggressive full-court pressure as rookies Halle Penner and Josephine Odude caused all sorts of problems for the Wesmen guards. Penner got Brandon on the board with a steal-and-score a couple of minutes in.

Amaya McLeod knocked down a 33-foot three-pointer to beat the shot block a few possessions later.

Offensively, the Bobcats drew plenty of fouls but struggled from the line, while the Wesmen knocked down a few jumpers and opened up a 16-11 lead through 10 minutes.

“Our press, I think, was working really well for us,” Shand said. “Just getting up there and pressuring, no one wants to be dribbling up the floor when you have Jo on you or Halle out there with their arms in the air. That’s our bread and butter.”

Winnipeg opened the second quarter on a speedy 7-0 run.

Rookie guard Ava Shaw looked just like she did as one of the top scorers in Manitoba high school hoops at Daniel McIntyre last year, weaving past Bobcat defenders to the rim.

As the pace picked up, the Wesmen racked up a huge 16-point advantage.

Late in the half, Winnipeg turned Brandon’s aggression on defence into open looks and stretched the lead to 47-24.

Jayna Maytwayashing scored her first five points of the game early in the second half, with a layup and a triple.

The veteran forward added another layup in transition.

Shand then drilled a trio of threes as BU needed just six minutes to make the third quarter its most productive offensive one of the night.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg struggled to create open looks as Brandon poured on the ball pressure, limiting the visitors to seven points in seven minutes as the lead shrunk to 10.

The Bobcats briefly cut it to single digits, but gave up a tough 6-0 run to head to the final frame down 62-47.

Winnipeg stayed patient in the fourth, working the clock and scoring enough to keep a comfortable lead.

Shand kept driving Brandon’s offence, knocking down a floater for her game-high 20th point of the night, but it wasn’t enough.

The Bobcats return to action on Nov. 1 against the host Manitoba Bisons.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com