Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — The MacEwan Griffins wanted to build on some of the positives they took out from Friday's loss to the powerhouse Saskatchewan Huskies, but the reigning Canada West champions decided to show why they have arguably the most explosive offense in the country.
Saskatchewan went on a 27-2 run in the opening quarter and shot 73.7 per cent from the field and 85.7 per cent from beyond the arc. The Griffins couldn't recover and fell 91-35 on Saturday at the David Atkinson gym.
Unity Obasuyi led MacEwan with 18 points, while Toni Gordon chipped in with five points, seven rebounds and two steals in the loss.
Gage Grassick led Saskatchewan with 26 points, five assists and three rebounds, and was red-hot from beyond the arc, nailing six treys, including going a perfect 4-for-4 in the opening quarter.
The victory was the 345th in the storied career of Huskies head coach Lisa Thomaidis, which surpasses legendary UBC head coach Deb Hubbard for most wins in women's basketball Canada West history.
"The first half, I mean it was certainly a tough start to the game, you never want to give up 40 points in a quarter," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams.
"When I look at the numbers in that quarter for Saskatchewan, they were unbelievable. They shot the ball very well, and it felt like everything they put up went in."
After trailing 40-11 in the opening quarter the Griffins picked themselves off the floor and showed a stronger defensive effort in the second quarter, but Saskatchewan remained in full control and didn't allow MacEwan to gain any traction after they opened the quarter on a 5-0 run.
Down 65-25, the Griffins were in a deep hole, and while their offence looked more fluid in the first half, they went cold in the second half, only scoring 20 points, and they had just three in the third quarter.
"You expect it. That's what great teams do," said Adams.
"Even though they walked away with a 40 point win (last night), I know they would've looked at yesterday and seen some areas they weren't happy with.
"They made improvements and took some things away, and it took a while for us to adjust to that, particularly how they were defending our ball screen attack and our ability to create space and get downhill."
Unity Obasuyi hits a buzzer-beating three at the end of the first quarter. She had 14 first-half points for the @MacEwanGriffins, who trail @HuskieWBB 65-25 through 20 minutes.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/qmOQtEN3gH
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Basketball Team (@Griffins_WBB) February 1, 2025
Offensively, the Griffins looked more fluid compared to Friday's loss, but because Saskatchewan was so aggressive defensively, they forced MacEwan to take 26 turnovers.
"On the possessions where we didn't turn the ball over, we were efficient in our ability to shoot the basketball. We found some openings to get downhill and get Unity the ball and get some easy scores for her and we found fluidity in our offensive attack," said Adams.
"We need to find a few more possessions where we get some more shot attempts and opportunities to score."
Adams said, while she saw some improvement on the offensive side of the ball, the team didn't have that same level of intensity on Saturday like they did on Friday, when they forced Saskatchewan into several uncharacteristic turnovers.
"There were moments today where our effort dropped a little bit, but we keep reiterating that it's not necessarily the scoreboard where we measure our success, it's those things that we have to keep doing to put ourselves in position to compete," said Adams.
"We want to continue to see growth, and there's no better way than to play one of the best teams in the country to see where you're exposed and work towards making those areas better."
MacEwan will be back on their home floor next weekend when they face the Manitoba Bisons Friday and Saturday (5 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday).
