January 11 - In their second straight week at home, the Bisons (5-8) looked to turn things around in 2008, after a tough week against cross-town rivals, University of Winnipeg.

Friday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (7-6) were visiting in the Canada West conference matchup. The Huskies were sitting in the middle of the pack in the Pacific Division, before the night’s action.

“I felt we didn’t match up particularly well against them tonight,” said head coach Pam Danis after the loss. “That was the big thing going down the stretch.”

Bison co-captain Melanie Schlichter got the game started on the right foot with a quick basket off the draw, followed by a long three-pointer in the next exchange. Midway through the frame, Manitoba held a four-point lead on the Huskies, thanks to great perimetre defence from the Herd. Despite an obvious size advantage for Saskatchewan, the Bisons were able to exploit a slower Huskie defence in transition on more than one occasion.

Quick ball control continued for the Bisons in the second, and their lead increased. Manitoba’s ability to convert turnovers into points made the visiting Huskies look flat-footed for the better part of the quarter. That being said, in the final minutes of the half, Saskatchewan mounted a small comeback to bring the game back to within four-points, thanks to their tenacity under the basket. Going into recess, the Huskies managed to tie the game up at 31 points a-piece.

Manitoba’s Kait Flett led all players at the half with 13 points and three steals. On the other side of the ball, the Huskies’ Jill Humbert and Amy Prokop had seven points each.

Impressive passing was the story early in the third frame, and the Huskies were finally able to solve Manitoba’s defence, taking the lead for the first time with a score of 41-39. After going up by 10 points, the Huskies looked to be in control of the game, but there wasn’t any quit in the Bisons play.

Coming home, the Huskies were up 54-47. With five minutes left to go in the game the Herd brought the game to a four-point Saskatchewan lead, and had all the momentum. Schlichter once again made her presence felt by tieing the game up with 50 seconds left at 67 points each. It was all for not as however as the Huskies scored a quick bucket and ran out the clock for the 71-67 win.

Schlichter had an impressive second half, leading all players with 23 points. The Huskies Kim Tulloch led her team to victory with 17 points.

“Melanie and Kait both played great tonight,” said Danis, trying to keep positive. “they both did their jobs well, but in the end, like the rest of the team, I’m not pleased with the result.”

The Bisons play one more home game tomorrow, Saturday, January 12 against the top-ranked, University of Alberta Pandas before heading back out on the road next week. The Pandas will be arguably Manitoba’s toughest challenge to date in conference play as the U of A is ranked number one in the Canada West – Pacific Division. The games starts at 6:15 pm.

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