WINNIPEG – The 11-seed Manitoba Bisons (7-13) hung around for much of the game Friday night, but couldn't overcome the 6-seed Winnipeg Wesmen (12-8) — whose offence did enough in the first and fourth quarters to advance to the Canada West quarterfinal.
Winnipeg's win at the Duckworth Centre came by a score of 69-54.
Addison Martin was the high scorer for Manitoba with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four steals. Taylor Randall chipped in 11 points and fifth-year Emma Thompson had ten points.
Robyn Boulanger had a game-high 21 points for Winnipeg.
The Wesmen had a better start — leading 19-11 after one quarter — and were able to hold their lead through the entire game, despite a few pushes from the Bisons.
The biggest run from Manitoba came at the end of the first half when an 8-2 run made it a four-point deficit at halftime. The Bisons used a full court press that had helped them come into the playoffs on a two-game win streak, having swept the Brandon Bobcats at the end of the regular season.
"It was kind of the game plan we had talked about," said Bisons head coach Michele Sung.
"We said it was going to be close the entire game and we wanted an opportunity to use some pressure defences to get a big run. The problem was we just couldn't get five people involved in that pressure like we had the last two weeks. So, it didn't give us the offensive output we were looking for."
Winnipeg came out strong at the start of the third quarter as they stretched their lead to 12 before the 3:45 mark. Struggles from outside hurt the Bisons in this quarter and throughout the game, as they made just 3-for-22 overall from three-point range.
"It came down to a couple of plays that you could feel were momentum shifters and we just couldn't capitalize on them," said Sung.
"Whether it be a solid defensive stop on something we knew they were going to run or hitting that big shot — we had so many put-backs that were in and out."
Despite the poor shooting, Manitoba was able to hang in the game thanks to numerous second chance opportunities. Keziah Brothers in particular had eight of her 11 boards on the offensive end. As a team, the Bisons picked up 18 offensive rebounds to Winnipeg's 16.
This is the third straight appearance in the post-season for Bisons women's basketball following an eight-year playoff drought. It was the final game in a Manitoba uniform for Emma Thompson, who graduates at the end of this year.
