WINNIPEG – The Alberta Pandas held the Manitoba Bisons off the score sheet for the first six minutes of play on Friday, propelling to an early lead, and 70-45 win on Friday night at IGAC.
The win improves their record to 11-2, atop Canada West's Prairie Division. It's their ninth straight victory, and the team has allowed more than 60 points just once during that span of time. Manitoba fell to 5-8 but are still in the final playoff spot in the conference.
Hometown hero Claire Signatovich, a three-time provincial champ with the Oak Park Raiders, shone in the Alberta win. The back-to-back U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds, adding another double-double to her school record in the stat.
Five-foot-ten guard Jayden Tanner and 6'2" forward Reece Hall added 16 and 12 points, respectively, capitalizing off of points in transition all evening. Entering the fourth quarter, the visitors scored 35 of their 59 points off of Manitoba turnovers, using their elite length to cause problems in the lane.
Alberta led by as much as 32 in the contest, with Manitoba battling back in the final ten minutes. In the fourth, the Herd out-scored Alberta 15-11, recording all 12 of their points off turnovers in the quarter.
Emerson Martin finished with a game-high 17 points for the hosts, including three triples, while
Anna Miko recorded five of her eight points in the fourth, to go with a team-leading 11 rebounds. Miko now has at least ten boards in six of her last eight games, and leads the Herd in the category this season.
The Bisons kept the game close with sensational defence at times, but Alberta countered with steals in timely moments. They had ten combined steals between the second and third quarter, and had 19 as a team.
Three different Pandas had three steals, as Tanner, Morgan Harris and Jenna Karach combined to have the same amount of steals as all of Manitoba's roster.
Darya Rom tied her career high with two steals for the Bisons, who will look to use the momentum of the fourth quarter to bridge the gap for tomorrow. Tip off is 5 pm CT.
