Kodiaks shake off slow start

By Dale Woodard on February 1, 2022.

For at least the first half, Ken McMurray might have been wondering if he was going to see a final result on the scoreboard not exactly indicative of the level of college basketball.

Fortunately for the head coach of the Lethbridge College Kodiaks women’s basketball team, his charges put those concerns to rest with a lights-out second half that ultimately led to a 67-58 win over the Ambrose Lions in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference play Saturday night at the Val Matteotti Gymnasium.

But it wasn’t quite the start they were looking for as the Kodiaks trailed 21-13 at the half before pouring in 54 points in the second half on their way to their ninth straight victory that puts them at 10-1 and atop the ACAC South Division.

“We scored 13 points in the first half and I thought this was going to be a junior high score,” said McMurray. “And then we scored 54 points in the second half. So they can score. We had some good looks in the first half, but we weren’t really aggressive like we normally are. Their #9 (Nya Gach, who had 22 points Saturday) played up top on the one-three-one and was causing us some grief a little bit. We made a few adjustments in the second half and the girls started hitting their shots and on our one-two-two press got some things going and we were off to the races.”

Kirsten Barwegen led the Kodiaks with 17 points and pulled in 21 rebounds, five assists and five steals in the win.

Matlin Jacobs knocked down 15 points and added seven assists, while first-year Kodiak Courtney Deemter chipped in with 12 points and narrowly missed the double-double with nine rebounds.

The win gives the Kodiaks sole possession of first place in the South, two points up on the St. Mary’s Lightning (9-1), who will be this weekend’s opponents.

“The girls are continuing to grow and trying to get better at trusting each other,” said McMurray. “We’re still at that point where we need to make that extra pass and give up the good shot for a great one. We’re not quite there yet, but I think we can get there and that’s what we want to shoot for come the end of February in playoffs.”

Though they didn’t shoot the lights out in the first half, McMurray noted they only gave up 21 points.

“So our defence is pretty solid right now. We had a few miscues in the second half, but overall I thought our effort and our hustle was there.”

That has been rewarded with a nine-game winning streak the Kodiaks will put on the line this weekend against St. Mary’s.

“I think this team really likes each other, they have good chemistry and they celebrate each other’s accomplishments,” said McMurray. “One night it might be Kirsten, another night it might be Courtney and another night it might be Matlin’s. It was Matlin’s night (Saturday) and Montana (Berezay’s) night (Friday). I think when you have good team chemistry it doesn’t really matter who scores and gets the celebration. As long as we try to win, that’s what we want.”

Deemter continued to light it up in her first year in the ACAC.

In Friday’s 81-77 over the Lions she hit for 33 points.

Her 19.6 points per game are second-best in the ACAC.

“She’s ultra-aggressive, so she causes incredible pressure on the defence all the time,” said McMurray. “She still has to learn when to drive to kick. That’s coming and she’s getting better at it. (Friday) she had seven assists, which was awesome. (Saturday) wasn’t as good as last night, but she’s getting to the point where she’s using her good driving skills to create for her teammates and when she gets to that point where it doesn’t become mechanical and she’s thinking about it, I think she will have really arrived. She’s incredibly aggressive on offence and defence, so she gets a lot of fast break opportunities. I’m very impressed with her.”

“She was a good find.”

The transition to the college game has been fun, said Deemter.

“Every day I’m excited to go to practice and excited for the games. Even tonight I was so excited to get the fans back. So that really helps feed the energy. It’s been so good. I’m happy with how it’s gone so far.”

With the Lighting up this weekend in a home-and-home battle between the top-two teams in the South, the Kodiaks look to run their winning streak into double digits.

“I think our team dynamic is good,” said Deemter. “Everyone just blends really well with everyone, complements each other’s playing and works cohesively. Even to have the energy from the bench and no negativity from anyone really helps because when we’re out there we really feed off the bench and those players and I think they’ve really helped keep us going in those tough games.”

Her first season in the ACAC has been a family affair for Deemter, who is Barwegen’s cousin.

“Right away she took me under her wing and helped me get comfortable with the team and also gave me that confidence. It’s been really fun having her.”

The family presence was also in the crowd Saturday night as fans were allowed back into the Val Matteotti Gymnasium after two weeks with no fans due to COVID-19 protocol.

“Our grandma was here tonight,” said Deemter. “So that was fun. We got to see her and she loves to come watch us both play together.”

The Kodiaks shot 31.3 per cent from the field Saturday and 34.6 per cent from three-point range.

They also shot 52.9 per cent on free throws.

On Friday, Berezay had 24 points and Barwegen added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Her 10.8 rebounds per game are third in the ACAC.

Follow @@DWoodardHerald on Twitter

Comments are closed.