EDMONTON - Jayden Tanner led all scorers with 20 points, while Morgan Harris filled up the boxscore with a nine-point/five-rebound/six-assist night as the Alberta Pandas dispatched the MRU Cougars 70-56 Saturday evening at the Saville Centre.
Alberta dominated throughout - leading for all but 27-seconds in this one, as they swept the weekend to move to 2-0 on the young season. MRU, by contrast, moved to 0-2 after some hard fought contests up north.
While Alberta only shot 37.3% from the field, they were largely the better team on the offensive side of the court, particularly in the paint where they outscored the Cougars 44-28. MRU saw a great outing from Temi Ajayi who finished six-for-14 from the field and led the squad with 16 points.
It was a very quiet start on the offensive side of the ball for both sides in this one, with the teams managing just six points between them through four minutes. However, last night's hero Jayden Tanner would ignite the home side, as midway through the frame she would catch a fastbreak pass for a layup, then immediately press the ensuing Cougars possession to get a steal and another deuce to shift the momentum in Alberta's favour. They would shoot 45.4% for the rest of the frame as they opened up a 21-12 lead on the visitors, led by five points and two steals from Tanner.
Temi Ajayi led the Cougars into a more successful offensive quarter, scoring six points with a deft left-hand touch, but the Pandas were stout enough to prevent any sort of large scoring run for the visitors. They held them to a six-for-16 mark from the field, and forced four turnovers in the quarter as Alberta entered the half up 43-28. Tanner led all scorers at the break with 16, while the Cougars were paced by Ajayi who had 12.
Alberta came out of the half on a heater in the third. They outscored the Cougars 20-10 in the frame, outshot them 47%-22%, and won the turnover battle 9-4. The Pandas saw seven different players record a point, and the offence looked incredibly efficient moving the ball spearheaded by Morgan Harris. The cross-province rivals entered the fourth with the hosts leading 63-38.
The fourth quarter was dominated by the Cougars, as they were able to recover some competitiveness and fire, outscoring the Pandas 18-7 in the frame. They shot 57% from the field, a far mark from their 26.5% to that point in the game. Jenika Martens was perfect on three attempts from the field to lead all scorers with six, but the Alberta lead was simply too insurmountable as they took it 70-56.
The Pandas will travel to UNBC next weekend for a series against the Timberwolves, while MRU hosts the reigning national champion Saskatchewan Huskies.
