Wolfpack preys on young ‘Cats

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This article was published 24/10/2010 (4538 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The list of winnable games for the Brandon University Bobcats women’s basketball team just shrunk by two — with no wins to show for it.

The Bobcats were outscored 41-16 in the second and third quarters and dropped their second straight game to start the Canada West season, losing 74-34 to the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack Saturday night at the BU Gymnasium.

Trailing just 15-12 after the first quarter, a short-staffed Brandon squad disintegrated from there. Playing without starting point guard Sarah Lopes and with starters Amanda Fortin and Nicisha Johnson both battling injuries that limited their playing time, the Bobcats were run out of their own gym, posting their lowest scoring output since back-to-back 24-point outings in February, 2006.

"We didn’t anticipate that we were going to lose Forty. We thought we’d have (Johnson) for more than we did, we didn’t anticipate the knee would be as bad as it was," BU head coach Jaime Taggart said of a team that also played this weekend without starting guard Katie Van De Sype. "And we were without our two starting point guards. That’s going to say a lot. We had first- and second-year kids playing big minutes. … There was a lot of good, but I think the errors we’re seeing are rookie errors."

Junior post Diane Schuetze scored 14 points and 6-foot-2 fourth-year senior Kailey Colonna added 10 points off the bench for TRU (2-0).

Johnson’s seven points led BU (0-2) in scoring while sophomore post Chantel Gaslard was the high rebounder for the Bobcats, grabbing nine.

The Bobcats struggled all night long to get any consistency in their offence, shooting 13-for-53 from the field, including an 0-for-5 effort from three.

Taggart remains confident in the offensive philosophy of the team.

"Stuff we’re running works," she said. "Thompson Rivers didn’t like our high-low when it was there but our guards weren’t in position, they weren’t fighting for position to get the ball to get the entry that we needed."

What’s more, Taggart asserted she’s more concerned with the process than one particular score.

"There’s tons of positives," she said. "I know everybody’s going to look at the score but that’s their business. Our business is to look at game tape and film and we’re seeing a lot of good. We’re seeing kids step up. We’ve got a lot more to do.

"… These are young kids. These are young kids in Canada West basketball. These are first- and second-year kids who need to fill the rolls of a Jayla Bousquet. Come on, you’ve gotta give them time. They’re working at it and it’s gonna come."

The Bobcats hit the road this weekend for a pair of games in Regina against the Cougars.