WINNIPEG – The nationally ranked Winnipeg Wesmen battled back from 13 points down in the fourth quarter, forced overtime and stole one 85-74 on Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The win secured the 2022-23 edition of the Duckworth Challenge for the visitors, who also swept volleyball the night before at the U of W. 
 
An unfortunate injury for Wesmen guard and leading scorer Kyanna Giles would pause the game in overtime. Winnipeg fought for their teammate, getting a four-point play by captain Robyn Boulanger that catapulted them into the lead, one they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way. 
 
With the win, Winnipeg improves to 14-3, while Manitoba fell to 4-13
 
Bisons guard Keziah Brothers would light it up on senior night in her final home game – putting up a career high 28 points and five rebounds while defending Giles with intensity all night. 
 
On the other end, Giles would erupt for 22 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and a whopping six steals.
 
"I learned so much from basketball, more than I expected coming in as a little 17-year-old coming out of highschool," said Brothers in an emotional post game interview. 
 
"I've learned how to work as a team and show resiliency. Something our coach told us early on was to "do hard better," and that's something that I've been able to take outside of the basketball court and apply to real life." 
 
Both teams would open the game with fierce pace, barrelling down to the floor and trading some tough buckets that had the crowd on their toes.
 
Bisons captain Lauren Bartlett took charge early, setting her team up for the early lead while hitting a deep three with defenders in her face, and shiftily getting to the rack for some easy kick outs to her teammates.
 
Brothers would also start her senior night off with some lights-out shooting – leading all scorers in the first quarter behind nine quick points.
 
The Wesmen locked down on defence in response, sneakily getting into the Bisons passing lanes and pushing the ball down the floor for some quick transition buckets. 
 
Giles and guard Anna Kernaghan would pick up three steals each in the first – keeping their team in the game as they narrowly trailed behind the Bisons by two points going into the second. 
 
Both teams would continue the fast-paced back-and-forth battle throughout the first half, with the Bisons leading by a handful, as the fiery Wesmen fought to gain the definitive lead.
 
The Bisons would lock in and showcase a perfect balance of offence and defence – narrowly leading 34-29 going into halftime. 
 
Manitoba would come out and shoot an eye-widening 61.6% from the three-point line as a team in the third, sinking five threes in the quarter, and catapulting them ahead as the Wesmen scrambled to narrow the deficit.
 
Giles would fight to keep her team in the running, putting up 16 points, four assists and five steals going into the fourth, making every Bisons player work for it. 
 
The fourth would prove to be an emotional rollercoaster, as the Wesmen fought back from a 13-point deficit and rallied back to tie the game with just two minutes left. 
 
The crowd held their breath with each shot, as both teams traded buckets to break the tie and come out on top. 
 
Bartlett would take a key charge in the final ten seconds – giving the Bisons the ball and the opportunity to seal the game. The Wesmen turned it up on defence and took possession as the clock ticked to zero – sending it to overtime. 
 
The Wesmen would come out blazing in overtime, behind some killer shots from guard Rina Guinto as she brought her team up by six points with one minute remaining. 
 
The Wesmen would cement the win off a corner dagger by Kernaghan as both teams left everything they had on the floor. 
 
The rematch goes tomorrow night at the U of W.