WESMEN - Athletics

Women’s Basketball

A TRIP WELL EARNED!

The Wesmen Women’s basketball team advanced to the Canada West Conference Final Four with a hard-fought, emotionally draining, 2-1 series win over cross-town rivals Manitoba on the weekend. With their backs to the wall and facing an early end to the season after dropping a 55-54 heart-breaker in the opening tilt, the second seeded Wesmen fought back with a convincing 68-54 win on Saturday night, setting up a final showdown with seventh seed Manitoba on Sunday afternoon. Winnipeg used a 15-4 run in the final seven and a half minutes of the game to pull away from the gritty Bisons in the decidedly physical contest. Guard JoAnne Wells led the way for the Wesmen with 20 points and 5 rebounds, while sister Janet added 16 points and 11 boards for a playoff double-double. On Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line, Winnipeg fought back from a nine point deficit with under 10 minutes left in the game, thanks to 8 straight points from JoAnne Wells, to set up a dramatic finish. And dramatic it was. Janet Wells coolly dropped 6 straight free throws in the final 90 seconds, including two with six ticks on the clock remaining after being fouled while pulling down a Manitoba miss, to lift her team to victory. Janet picked her second double-double in a row, this time with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while JoAnne chipped in with 21 points of her own to go with 6 boards and 4 steals. To cap things off Janet went a perfect 16 for 16 from the line over the entire three games. JoAnne wasn’t far off in matching that with a 17 for 18 foul shooting performance. The Wesmen are off to the Simon Fraser campus in Burnaby, BC on the weekend where they will face the third seed Victoria Vikes on Friday at 8:15. The Wesmen split two games with the Vikes earlier this month. Winnipeg needs just one win in the playoff tournament to qualify for the CIS Nationals, March 6th to 9th at McMaster University. No. 1 Simon Fraser and fourth seed Calgary round out the competition.

Women’s Volleyball

LEARNING CURVE

The Wesmen Women’s Volleyball team hopes the experience of playing with the top dogs in the Canada West Women’s Volleyball Final Four will rub off in the CIS Nationals in two weeks time. On Saturday afternoon at the University of Alberta the Wesmen took on the No. 1 ranked Pandas in their opening game, coming out on the losing end of a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) score. Andrea Charbonneau’s 9 kills led Winnipeg, while Jocelyn Roy added 6 more and 6 digs. The Pandas scored on 45 kills out of 92 attempts and the Wesmen checked in at 29 kills out of 90 attempts. On Sunday afternoon in the Bronze medal game, the Wesmen didn’t fare any better dropping another 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-19) decision, this time to the UBC Thunderbirds. Amy Matthews and Kaitlyn Jackson finished with 6 kills apiece for Winnipeg. Libero Kristy Fewchuk led the team with 10 digs and Matthews added 6 more. Both teams attempted 104 kill shots, with UBC connecting on 43, while Winnipeg finished 24. The Wesmen qualify for the CIS Nationals in Laval in two weeks time and will wait until Sunday to find out their seeding spot.

Men’s Basketball

BOBCATS END WESMEN SEASON

The Wesmen Men’s Basketball team ended their season with a 2-0 series defeat at the hands of the Brandon Bobcats in the Great Plains Division semi-final. On Friday night, the Bobcats came out strongly, overwhelming the Wesmen 83-62 in the opening tilt at B.U Gymnasium. 2ND year guard Aldin Smalling was atop the Winnipeg score sheet with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. 5th year post Dan Duggan added 10 points and 3 boards, while freshman Erfan Nasajpour chipped in with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. The Bobcats completed the two-game sweep with another convincing win on Saturday night. This time Winnipeg kept Brandon in check most of the way, but faltered down the stretch, as a 31-3 run in the final 10 minutes sealed the Wesmen’s fate in a 89-58 Bobcat victory. Duggan, playing in what would be his final game in a Wesmen uniform, led the way for Winnipeg with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Smalling and backcourt mate Nasajpour had 12 and 11 points respectively to round out the Wesmen top scorers.

WESMEN NEWS
February 17 to February 23 /2003 Women’s Basketball *A TRIP WELL EARNED!* The Wesmen Women’s basketball team advanced to the Canada West Conference Final Four with a hard-fought, emotionally draining, 2-1 series win over cross-town rivals Manitoba on the weekend. With their backs to the wall and facing an early end to the season after dropping a 55-54 heart-breaker in the opening tilt, the second seeded Wesmen fought back with a convincing 68-54 win on Saturday night, setting up a final showdown with seventh seed Manitoba on Sunday afternoon. Winnipeg used a 15-4 run in the final seven and a half minutes of the game to pull away from the gritty Bisons in the decidedly physical contest. Guard JoAnne Wells led the way for the Wesmen with 20 points and 5 rebounds, while sister Janet added 16 points and 11 boards for a playoff double-double. On Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line, Winnipeg fought back from a nine point deficit with under 10 minutes left in the game, thanks to 8 straight points from JoAnne Wells, to set up a dramatic finish. And dramatic it was. Janet Wells coolly dropped 6 straight free throws in the final 90 seconds, including two with six ticks on the clock remaining after being fouled while pulling down a Manitoba miss, to lift her team to victory. Janet picked her second double-double in a row, this time with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while JoAnne chipped in with 21 points of her own to go with 6 boards and 4 steals. To cap things off Janet went a perfect 16 for 16 from the line over the entire three games. JoAnne wasn’t far off in matching that with a 17 for 18 foul shooting performance. The Wesmen are off to the Simon Fraser campus in Burnaby, BC on the weekend where they will face the third seed Victoria Vikes on Friday at 8:15. The Wesmen split two games with the Vikes earlier this month. Winnipeg needs just one win in the playoff tournament to qualify for the CIS Nationals, March 6th to 9th at McMaster University. No. 1 Simon Fraser and fourth seed Calgary round out the competition. Women’s Volleyball LEARNING CURVE The Wesmen Women’s Volleyball team hopes the experience of playing with the top dogs in the Canada West Women’s Volleyball Final Four will rub off in the CIS Nationals in two weeks time. On Saturday afternoon at the University of Alberta the Wesmen took on the No. 1 ranked Pandas in their opening game, coming out on the losing end of a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-17) score. Andrea Charbonneau’s 9 kills led Winnipeg, while Jocelyn Roy added 6 more and 6 digs. The Pandas scored on 45 kills out of 92 attempts and the Wesmen checked in at 29 kills out of 90 attempts. On Sunday afternoon in the Bronze medal game, the Wesmen didn’t fare any better dropping another 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-19) decision, this time to the UBC Thunderbirds. Amy Matthews and Kaitlyn Jackson finished with 6 kills apiece for Winnipeg. Libero Kristy Fewchuk led the team with 10 digs and Matthews added 6 more. Both teams attempted 104 kill shots, with UBC connecting on 43, while Winnipeg finished 24. The Wesmen qualify for the CIS Nationals in Laval in two weeks time and will wait until Sunday to find out their seeding spot. Men’s Basketball *BOBCATS END WESMEN SEASON* The Wesmen Men’s Basketball team ended their season with a 2-0 series defeat at the hands of the Brandon Bobcats in the Great Plains Division semi-final. On Friday night, the Bobcats came out strongly, overwhelming the Wesmen 83-62 in the opening tilt at B.U Gymnasium. 2ND year guard Aldin Smalling was atop the Winnipeg score sheet with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. 5th year post Dan Duggan added 10 points and 3 boards, while freshman Erfan Nasajpour chipped in with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. The Bobcats completed the two-game sweep with another convincing win on Saturday night. This time Winnipeg kept Brandon in check most of the way, but faltered down the stretch, as a 31-3 run in the final 10 minutes sealed the Wesmen’s fate in a 89-58 Bobcat victory. Duggan, playing in what would be his final game in a Wesmen uniform, led the way for Winnipeg with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Smalling and backcourt mate Nasajpour had 12 and 11 points respectively to round out the Wesmen top scorers.