Bobcats answer bell 20 minutes late against Wesmen

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This article was published 01/12/2022 (657 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Everyone in the gym knew it was over. The Winnipeg Wesmen had their sixth win sealed up at halftime.

But a young, rebuilding Brandon University Bobcats women’s basketball team refused to let a 30-point deficit be cause to quit, grinding to an 83-46 loss to last year’s U Sports silver medallists at the Duckworth Centre on Thursday.

“Overall, I think we came together as a team in the second half. We kind of showed up a little bit in our heads and we weren’t really ready to play,” said Kelsey Starchuck, who led the Bobcats with five rebounds in 18 minutes.

“… We all had a talk (at halftime) about coming together as a team and encouraging each other in every single step and trying to get energy on plays like offensive rebounds and diving for the ball.”

The Wesmen were all over the Bobcats right from the opening tip. Winnipeg (6-1) limited Brandon (0-9) to 1-for-13 shooting with five turnovers while sharing the ball around and knocking down open looks the whole first quarter. The hosts’ pressure on the ball was simply relentless.

Piper Ingalls finally hit BU’s first field goal, a three-pointer seven minutes into the frame, but Winnipeg led 25-4 after 10 minutes.

The Bobcats found a bit more room to shoot in the second quarter as the Wesmen starters took some time off. Cali Yates knocked down both shots she took, including one on a slick drive, shaking off two defenders to get to the rim.

The quarter was nearly even until Winnipeg rattled off a 10-0 run in two minutes to lead 46-16 at halftime.

The Bobcats shot just two free throws in the first half. It was partly the fact that they only drew six foul calls — a handful more went uncalled — but they started attacking the rim in the third quarter. BU went on an 11-3 run that spanned most of the period, then gave up another quick eight points but tied it 17-17.

Why don’t the Bobcats bring that intensity from the jump?

“If you knew the answer to that, I’d be coaching the (San Antonio) Spurs,” said Bobcats head coach James Bambury. “What we really have to do is find our aggression and our confidence early of these are the shots we want, these are the shots we’re going to take and whatever happens, happens from there.

“Getting up the floor and putting more ball pressure on gets people motivated more so that’s probably going to be the next step.”

The lowlight of BU’s game, however, came when Andrea Taruc shoved Raizel Guinto from behind on a breakaway, receiving an unsportsmanlike foul.

The Wesmen took their comfortable 63-33 advantage into the fourth with little to worry about. Once again, the Bobcats chipped away at the lead, coming as close as 26, before a Wesmen scoring burst extended the margin to 37.

“We came out too passive,” Bambury said. “… When you’re playing an aggressive team, playing a talented team, you want to play fast and mistakes are going to happen.

“They saw us passive and took more of that. It’s the invasion game, you either take space or give space. We kept giving them space and they kept taking it.”

Robyn Boulanger led the Wesmen with 22 points while Ingalls topped BU scorers with nine.

But it was a total contrast from last Friday when the weaker Lethbridge Pronghorns ran all over a seemingly disinterested Bobcats lineup.

This time, the Bobcats put their heads down, ignored the lopsided score and fought. The bench stayed intense. Bambury was far more accepting of the effort.

He’ll want to see more of that second half at the Healthy Living Centre on Saturday when the Bobcats and Wesmen meet again to close the first semester at 5 p.m.

“We’re learning to be tough enough that regardless of the score, it’s tap tap tap, chip away, chip away,” Bambury said. “We need to be able to respond a bit faster so instead of the run being eight it’s six or four.

“If we can come out with a little more aggression, a little more purpose, a lot more things are going to happen positively.”

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