For the 33^rd year, the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen are set to clash in the annual Duckworth Challenge.
 
The Challenge was started by the late Dr. Henry E. Duckworth (president of the University of Winnipeg from 1971-81 and Chancellor of the University of Manitoba from 1986-92) in an effort to profile the intense but friendly cross-town rivalry between the University of Winnipeg and the University of Manitoba. It originated in the 1991-92 season.
 
Events are held at both universities in Winnipeg, and involve the sports of volleyball, basketball and women's soccer. Each year the venue for the sports is alternated.
 
Manitoba already won the soccer portion of the challenge, where they are undefeated all-time against the Wesmen. The event continues on Thursday night with volleyball at the U of W, followed by the conclusion with basketball at IGAC on Friday night.
 
The Herd won last year's challenge 3-2 (all three women's teams emerged victorious) and hold an all-time winning record of 19-13 against Winnipeg.
 
The storied history of the event has captured the hearts and minds of Wesmen and Bisons fans across the city, who flock to each venue to cheer loud and proud. It's a point of pride for current athletes, many of whom grew up watching the challenge in their younger years.
 
"I remember probably from eighth grade, going to watch the Duckworth Challenge with my brother and my family. It's always a good game. You're excited to go. That's the one game I would go watch when I was younger. Since then it's grown, and now I'm actually playing in it. The rivalry has just continued," said fourth-year men's basketball forward Cieran O'Hara, a product of St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg.
 
"It's always the most fun game to play in for sure. The crowd is there, it's literally electric when you're playing. Everyone is either on your side or against you. It just makes it so much more fun."
 
 
'We have to fight to prove who's the best in the city'
This year's basketball portion hosted by the Bisons has plenty of local flair. A total of 46 of the 58 student-athletes spread across the four rosters are Manitoba-bred, adding to the competitiveness.
 
"There's a lot more motivation because you play against these girls in the summer, you see them at local runs and workouts. You build that relationship together, but on the court you know it's strictly business. That added one-up on each other when you beat one another for the Duckworth is what we're all looking for," noted fourth-year women's basketball guard Emily Mandamin, who played for the Dakota Lancers in Winnipeg.
 
"I know [Wesmen junior guard] Anna Kernaghan. She was super hard to guard in high school when she played for Sturgeon Heights, she's still hard to guard now. I remember her always giving us a hard time. [Sophomore forward] Jazmin Birch, I remember growing up watching her play, [sophomore guard] Jasia Hayden went to Dakota for a little bit. There's a lot of girls who I'm pretty familiar with," she added.
 
"It's cool to see where they've gone. [Freshman guard] Abby Sweeny she's another good friend of mine, so it's fun to see that little rivalry going on between us. It'll be fun, it'll be a good weekend."
 
"There is definitely an added level of intensity when we're playing Winnipeg," chimed in senior men's basketball wing Daren Watts.
 
"We have to fight to prove who's the best in the city, and on top of that, we have to see these guys in our day to day and you never want to feel like they got one up on you."
 
The pair of basketball squads have engaged in plenty of thrillers over the years, but fans and players are quick to remember the 2023 men's basketball semi-finals at IGAC.
 
With a shot at nationals on the line, the Wesmen upset the 19-2 Bisons, who'd set a school record for regular season wins that year.
 
In fitting fashion, the gritty battle came down to the last shot, with Winnipeg surviving, 73-70 in front of a sold-out crowd of over 3300 fans.
 
"The gym was packed. People were standing up along the top of the concourse. That was the most fun game in terms of crowd and atmosphere that I've ever played in. Whether you were down or up, it didn't really matter. Half the gym was on your side or half the gym was against you. Either way it just made it way more fun," recalled O'Hara.
 
"If people are booing you, I've got to lock in, or if people are cheering for you it's the same thing. I have to make the crowd happy and make my team happy. I think it makes you play harder. It definitely makes you enjoy it more. You try to take it in when you're on the bench, or just in warmup, looking around. You feel like a superstar. It's fun. I'm sure the crowd likes it too. No matter how sloppy the game is, the atmosphere brings up the whole vibe of the game."
 

 
'We were all really fixated on trying to beat the U of W'
In the first half of the 2024-25 season, Manitoba owned the cross-town rivalry, and they'll look to continue their success in 2025.
 
The women's soccer team won their portion of the challenge on an absolute beauty of a free kick from Shannon 'long ball' Lee in a 1-0 win. Then, at the start of December, the Herd turned the Duckworth Centre into Bisons Country with victories over the Wesmen women's and men's basketball teams during the first of three regular season Canada West matchups.
 
Rebounding was a major story in both victories.
 
In the women's game, the Bisons won 64-55 for their third straight victory against their city rivals.
 
Mandamin posted a career-high 11 boards in the victory, while sophomore forward Anna Miko posted her third straight double-double with a career-high 14 rebounds along with 11 points, and the Herd grabbed 58 rebounds overall.
 
"I just remember leading up to that December game we were all really fixated on trying to beat the U of W. We had thrown in a couple different game plans and a couple concepts to build upon. In the game we all united," said Mandamin.
 
"We had one goal. Our goal was to dominate the boards, and that ended up happening. It helped us get a team win, it was great."
 

On the men's side, O'Hara – fourth in Canada West with nine rebounds per game – scooped up four of his game-high ten rebounds in the final 1:23, helping Manitoba to an 85-76 victory.
 
The Wesmen had owned the rivalry over the prior two years, due in large part to their ability to crash the glass hard. This time, Manitoba was having none of it, handing No. 3 nationally ranked Winnipeg their first loss of the year.
 
Down 76-73 with two-and-a-half minutes to go, the Herd went on a 12-0 run, out-hustling the Wesmen with sheer grit and relentless effort, including O'Hara's four "grown man rebounds," according to head coach Kirby Schepp.
 
Manyang Tong, a veteran of over 40 U SPORTS games, scored six of his 19 points during Manitoba's late game surge, tying the game at 76 with a three-pointer with 2:10 to go, and later increasing Manitoba's lead to 81-76 with another dagger three. He finished the game with a career-high 29 minutes played.
 
The game-winning bucket came off a slick pass from Watts to O'Hara, who waited out a Wesmen defender under the basket for the 78-76 lead.
 
"Going into the game, I remember the week leading up to it, Kirby was emphasizing how important rebounding was. During practice I don't think we'd ever gone through that many rebounding battles. When you're doing it, it doesn't make sense but as you get to the game it helps get your mindset right," mentioned O'Hara.
 
"Kirby emphasized how it was going to be a battle on the glass and super physical. It turned out to be that. I think it helped with Kirby telling us to go after the ball. That extra 20, 30 minutes of practice doing those rebound drills was definitely a big factor."
 

'You know it's going to be a big turnout'
The stakes couldn't be any higher for the rematch between all four teams.
 
On the women's side, the two squads are battling for the seventh and final playoff spot in Canada West's Prairie Division. The Bisons are 5-9 and currently have a 1-0 edge in the three-game series, while the Wesmen are just underneath them at 4-10.
 
Raia Guinto and Jazmin Birch are both averaging double figures in scoring per game for Winnipeg, while Anna Kernaghan has dished out 43 assists along with 22 steals.
 
Meanwhile, Manitoba is fifth in Canada West, with 15.2 assists per game. Anna Miko is also 11th in CanWest with 68 defensive rebounds, and her 102 total rebounds are 13^th. She has a double-double in six of her last eight games as well.
 
"You know it's going to be a big turnout because it's Winnipeg versus Manitoba. There's tons of people that come to those games," said Mandamin.
 
"Those are the games that get people talking for a little bit. It's always fun to have those conversations, and it grows the sport of women's basketball getting people to come out and watch."
 
On the men's side, Winnipeg is first in Canada West's Prairie Division, at 12-2. Manitoba is third at 11-3. The top two teams have the right to host multiple rounds of the playoffs, and this weekend will provide tons of clarity regarding the post-season situation.
 
It'll be a battle of two resilient, hard-nosed squads who are well coached and don't make mental mistakes often. Their success starts on the defensive end, with the Wesmen first in Canada West in points allowed per game, at 66.9, and Manitoba in second at 70.5.
 
The Bisons are one of only three teams to put up over 80 points against Winnipeg this year, paced by Mason Kraus' 17.6 points per game. He played a career-high 39 minutes against Winnipeg in December while scoring a game-high 25 points and adding two steals.
 
As a team, Manitoba has 125 steals, led by Kraus' 36, which is second in Canada West and top five in the country. O'Hara has added 14 steals and leads Canada West with 26 blocks.
 
The Wesmen feature a balanced roster with a number of two-way guards who don't turn the ball over often. Alberto Gordo, Kato Jaro, Lamar Everd and Shawn Maranan have combined for 76 steals, while Gordo, Jaro, Maranan and forward Ryan Luke are all shooting over 30 percent from three point range.
 
"The U of W are very disciplined with their guards especially. I think it's going to be the same thing this time," said O'Hara.
 
"They have some pretty good size, but I think there will be room and opportunity for guys to get on the glass. Overall, our guards out-size them which helps. I think the forwards can kind of just battle for it."