EDMONTON - Fifth-year Emma Kary scored a game-high 28 points and hit eight threes in her last regular season Canada West game to lead the Alberta Pandas to a 91-78 victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.
The win, coupled with a UFV loss against Saskatchewan which you can view here, will place the Pandas in the fourth and final hosting seed in the Canada West playoffs.
The Pronghorns loss eliminates them from the playoffs, as the UNBC Timberwolves beat Brandon earlier in the day and slid into the 12th and final playoff spot.
Kary also broke the Pandas record for most threes made in a game, a final laurel on a fantastic U SPORTS career.
The 'Horns were led by Jessica Haenni who finished with a team-high 19.
The 'Horns got off to a tremendous start in the contest, going on an 11-2 run powered by a 5/7 mark from the field and generating seven points off of three early steals. Lethbridge's Haily Weaver was at the heart of everything good, picking up a steal and a quarter-high seven points. The visitors had the paint locked down for the majority of the first, but Alberta and their CW seventh-ranked three-point percentage hit four triples that got the hosts back into the game. The quarter ended 23-20 for the Pandas.
Emma Kary led the Pandas in the second frame, totalling a quarter-high 12 points and hitting a remarkable four threes as the hosts began to build their lead. Alberta would win the quarter 26-15, and entered halftime up 49-35.
Kary led all scorers at the break with 18 points, while Weaver paced the Pronghorns with 11 of her own.
Lethbridge improved on the offensive side of the ball in the third, including an 11-point quarter from Jessica Haenni. However, the hosts would mostly keep pace with their Southern Alberta rivals and still led 71-60 after three.
It would setup an exciting finish at the Saville Centre, where the teams would battle for momentum throughout the entire fourth quarter. Lethbridge started with an 8-4 run, but Alberta behind Kary would keep their lead hovering around seven with a couple of minutes left. A late layup by Jenna Harpe would all but seal the result as the Pandas beat the Pronghorns xx-xx.
The Pandas return to action next Saturday, either as a play-in team or a host.
It was the last regular season game for two graduating members of the Pandas program, Kary and Neve Murray. Between them a combined 12 years of experience with the program, and both were large factors in the teams continued success.
