Griffins find a few bright spots despite tough loss to Manitoba
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
12 | 6 | 16 | 14 | 48 |
|
|
16 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 75 |
Team Stats
Manitoba
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | Manitoba |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (16-59) | (31-70) |
| Field Goal % | 27.1% | 44.3% |
| Rebounds | 36 | 43 |
| Assists | 9 | 18 |
| Turnovers | 29 | 22 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 14 | 29 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 12 |
| Pts in the Paint | 12 | 46 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 2 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 0 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
WINNIPEG, Man. – In the dying seconds of a 75-48 blowout loss to the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday, a glimmer of future hope emerged for the Griffins women's basketball team.
Rookie Bella Kurz stepped up and drained a long-range three, got fouled and made the free throw to record a four-point play. It was the first four points of her Canada West career.
Although it was too late to affect Saturday's scoreline, it gave her Griffins teammates a smile on a night they needed one.
"Bella played six minutes and she brought some great energy," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams. "Really well deserving for her to end it that way and get the first points of her career in memorable fashion."
Bright spot at the end of this one as rookie Bella Kurz hits her first points of her @CanadaWest career with a four-point play in the dying seconds.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/cd85CWDVdU
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Basketball Team (@Griffins_WBB) January 25, 2026
Now, if only a few more of those shots dropped for MacEwan on a night they would generally love to forget in the shooting department. They shot just 27.1 per cent from the field and suffered through some brutally cold offensive stretches, including netting just six points in the second quarter.
A total of 29 turnovers also hampered their cause.
"The turnovers certainly didn't help," said Adams. "It was a very different game than yesterday where we had a season low in turnovers. I think today, there was a little bit more pressure and we were a little less assertive from the outset and that gave Manitoba a chance to jump on things and shift momentum to their side and get a bit of a lead.
"We battled away for a bit, but at the end of the day, we just didn't make shots. That lack of assertiveness and then not seeing the ball go through the hoop was the difference."
Manitoba was co-led in scoring by three players, who all hit 13 points: Taylor Schepp, Samantha Onyebuchi and Darya Rom. Anna Miko had a double double for a second-straight night with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
MacEwan was led by Samantha Hickey, who posted 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Unity Obasuyi had 11 points, while Toni Gordon narrowly missed a second-straight double double with 10 points and eight boards.
The @CanadaWest blocks leader Samantha Hickey was up to her usual ways in #YWG, posting five more blocks at @umbisons to run her season total to 44.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/LHMttWTSRo
— MacEwan Griffins Women's Basketball Team (@Griffins_WBB) January 25, 2026
"In general, I thought Sam started the game strong, making her presence felt," said Adams. "She was really assertive in the paint, demanding the ball, creating scores for herself and putting herself in great positions to get scores.
"As we've said, she anchors us at the defensive end and does such a good job of protecting the rim. She displayed that again today, just her ability to keep the ball out and make teams think twice about going in there when she's closing out against you."
Hickey stretched her Canada West lead in blocks to 44 on the season, four ahead of her nearest pursuer – Julia Tuchscherer, who has played one more game.
With the result, the Griffins drop to 0-16, while Manitoba improves to 5-11.
The Griffins will be back on the road next weekend as they travel to meet 5-11 Brandon.
