Two tough losses
Mar. 15, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Ian Hamilton
Dave Taylor preferred to look at the big picture Sunday.
After the University of Regina Cougars lost in the bronze-medal game at the CIS women's basketball championship tournament in Hamilton, Taylor -- the Cougars' head coach -- said such defeats will happen to successful teams.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed," Taylor said after Regina fell 78-67 to the Saskatchewan Huskies. "Our goal was to medal and we had two chances to do it and couldn't get it done.
"But if we're going to get this program to the point where we're going to be at nationals every year, we're also going to have to absorb some losses sometimes -- and some tough losses. Any loss at this tournament is a tough one."
Regina actually sustained two tough losses on the weekend.
The Cougars -- who were appearing at their third straight CIS tournament and their 10th in 13 seasons -- hung with the top-seeded Simon Fraser Clan on Saturday for much of their championship semifinal. A 69-55 loss dropped Regina into the third-place game.
"(On Saturday) night, the girls were crushed," Taylor said. "I thought they did a good job of turning it around (for Sunday's game). The effort level and the mental side were there. But it was a quick turnaround from (Saturday's) late game to an early game (Sunday) and that affected us when we tried to hit jump shots and play defence.
"We just ran out of gas."
The Cougars actually got off to a solid start Sunday -- a novelty for them -- and led 25-16 after 10 minutes.
Regina scored the first four points of the second quarter to take a 29-16 lead, but a 19-5 run got the Huskies back into the game. The teams were tied 37-37 at halftime.
The Cougars scored the first basket of the third quarter before Saskatchewan scored 12 straight points to take command. Regina never got closer than four points -- 60-56 -- the rest of the way.
Lindsay DeGroot scored 24 points for Saskatchewan, which posted its best-ever finish at nationals. Joanna Zalesiak had 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Cougars, who got 17 points and 15 rebounds from Brittany Read.
Regina was just 1-for-12 from three-point territory in the second half and 4-for-20 in the game.
On Saturday, the Cougars played a stellar defensive game against the Clan. Robyn Buna, the CIS player-of-the-year, didn't score until the fourth quarter -- she hit a three for her only points of the game -- and Simon Fraser didn't come anywhere close to its average output of 84 points per game.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, they couldn't generate any offence either. They were just 4-for-15 from three-point range in the game and 17-for-55 overall.
"In the last couple of years in games against very good teams, we struggle to score points," Taylor said. "That's on me. I didn't find (the players) the looks (on offence) they needed to score."
A Zalesiak trey to start the third quarter cut the Clan lead to 29-28, but SFU pulled away. Regina didn't get closer than 57-50 down the stretch.
Zalesiak had 18 points and 10 boards for Regina, which got 11 points from Lindsay Ledingham and 10 from Read.
Simon Fraser won its second straight national title Sunday with a 77-56 victory over the Windsor Lancers. It was the final CIS game for the Clan, which is moving to the NCAA next season.
The Cape Breton Capers claimed fifth place with an 86-49 triumph over the Laval Rouge et Or.
Taylor said fourth place was disappointing because of the squad's current level of expectations for itself. That said, the head coach noted he was gratified with the accomplishment.
"I'm really proud that I've continued the tradition of the program," said Taylor, who's in his fourth season at the helm after replacing Jeff Speedy. "When I took this job, my single biggest fear was I would let this program down. Well, I'd say we're back to where we're going to be here every year."