EDMONTON - Reigning two-time U SPORTS National Defensive Player of the Year
Claire Signatovich was stellar with a 16 point-16 rebound double-double to help the 3rd-seeded Alberta Pandas cruise to a 71-46 Canada West Quarterfinal victory over the 11th-seeded Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.
The Pandas were seemingly everywhere on the defensive side of the ball, forcing a remarkable 30 turnovers and tying the rebounding battle 48-48 with the second-best rebounding team in the conference in Lethbridge. Signatovich's boards were a game-high, but she was closely trailed by third-year
Reece Hall who had 14. They held the 'Horns to just a 29.5% mark from the field, although they did not have a good day in that department either shooting 32.4% on the day. Fourth-year guard
Jayden Tanner was also impressive in the win, scoring a career and game-high 24 points, potting three triples and going 7/8 from the charity stripe.
"I just think we were a resilient team tonight," Alberta head coach
Scott Edwards said postgame, who added, "...just credit to them, they stayed and defended as hard as they could…I don't think we shot it well, but I thought that we just stayed in the moment better than we have in other parts of the year."
It is remarkably the 17th-straight win for Alberta, who are seventh in the latest U SPORTS national ranking. They have not lost a game since November 16th, dropping a 76-49 contest to the Saskatchewan Huskies, who look poised to face off against the UFV Cascades in a Semifinal. With the victory, the Pandas move on to face the 2nd-seeded 18-2 (1-0 playoffs) UBC Thunderbirds, who won their QF matchup against the Regina Cougars earlier in the day, in the other CW Semifinal.
Lethbridge was led by Kyra Collier, who scored a team-high 11 points to go with 10 rebounds for a double-double of her own. The 'Horns were defensively stout at times, but were unable to convert that momentum into any offensive success.
Tempo was the name of the game for Edward's squad to start this one, as they were flying on the fastbreak getting out to a 10-3 lead and forcing an early Pronghorns timeout. More impressive, however, was the tenacity of Alberta's second-ranked defence in the frame that held a Pronghorns offence to just 10 points against 12 turnovers. While they only scored 13 points off of the possession changes, it summarily shut down an offence that just yesterday scored 84 points on a good defence in Victoria. The lead was 21-10 after one as Signatovich paced all scorers with seven.
The second quarter saw the Pandas build on an already impressive lead, holding Lethbridge without a basket for the first 4:18 of play in the frame.
Jayden Tanner was incendiary in the second, hitting three triples and adding a steal and a free throw as she helped Alberta balloon their lead at the half to 41-25.
Tanner paced all scorers with 14 at the break, followed closely by Signatovich who had 11. Lethbridge got seven points from Kyra Collier, but were unable to get anything going against a partial press that the Pandas instituted to great success. Alberta forced 17 turnovers in the first half, and outscored the 'Horns on the fastbreak, a staggering 18-1.
Lethbridge massively improved on defence in the third quarter, limiting the Pandas to an ugly 15.8% mark shooting from the field despite turning the ball over seven times in the frame. However, they only managed to tie the quarter 10-10 as the Pandas continued their stalwart defence. The effort would leave the door open, however, for a comeback as the entered the final quarter down 16 points.
However, Alberta quickly quashed any notion of a comeback with a quick 13-3 run led by Tanner who finished off her career day with six points, four from the line, in the frame to lead the Pandas into the next round. They face UBC in Vancouver at 3PM MST next Saturday, as they eye a return to the CW Championship Game for the third-straight season.
