Bronze Baby capper for Huskies hard work

Women’s hoops team great ambassadors for Saskatoon

The Huskies storm the court after their Canada West title win.

    You have to love it when good people become national champions, and there are a lot of people that are happy for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team.

    On Sunday in Fredericton, N.B., the Huskies captured their first Canadian Interuniversity Sport title downing the Ryerson University Rams 85-71. On the U of S campus, the Huskies women’s hoops team is popular due to the fact they pretty much go see all the other Huskies teams play whenever they get the chance, and they are involved in various community activities.

    They are all extremely personable and genuine, so there were definitely a large number of smiles on people’s faces on campus and in Saskatoon who watched the Huskies lift the Bronze Baby championship trophy on television.

    For head coach Lisa Thomaidis, the win was a reward that was a long time coming for almost two decades of hard work. The Ontario product, who is also the current head coach of Canada’s senior national women’s basketball team, became the Huskies bench boss in 1998, when the U of S women’s basketball program was at one of its lowest points. The idea of even being in a national final almost seemed impossible and even laughable.

    The Huskies weren’t often a first choice destination for hoops players in Saskatchewan. The University of Regina Cougars were an elite powerhouse team back then like they still are now, and they would win a national championship in 2001.

Dalyce Emmerson (#13) is an all-time Huskies great.

    Thomaidis’s task was to prove Saskatchewan was big enough for two elite women’s university teams. She succeeded in spectacular fashion and also earned the reputation as being one of the best coaches in Canada in any sport.

    She mirrored one thing the Cougars were excellent in as far as recruiting goes. You find players that are good people first, who also happen to be good athletes.

    After three seasons, the Huskies were respectable and qualified for the post-season for the first time in 18 years. In 2006, they appeared at nationals for the first time under Thomaidis’s guidance after winning the Canada West title. The Huskies were now a powerhouse.

    This season, the Huskies won their third Canada West title in six years. The squad is full of players that are outstanding individuals you would do anything for.

    Making their eighth trip to nationals in the last nine years, the Huskies finally had their day in the sun. In all three rounds of the CIS final-eight tournament, the Huskies encountered adversity, but always answered the call and posted a solid win.

    Second seeded U of S dispatched the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees 73-62 in the quarter-final round and downed the St. Mary’s University Huskies 65-58 in the semifinal round.

    In the title game, U of S met the challenge of a high-temp and high-scoring Rams team. The Huskies trailed 22-18 after the first quarter, led 42-40 at halftime and rolled to a convincing win from that point.

Kelsey Trulsrud nails a free throw.

    Fifth-year starters Laura Dally, Kelsey Trulsrud and Dalyce Emmerson played the entire 40-minute match for the Huskies.

    Dally, who was the most valuable player of the Canada West conference, topped the Huskies with 25 points, which included hitting four shots from three-point range. Trulsrud, who is a scrappy guard that stands 5-foot-9, added 14 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and picked up three assists.

    Emmerson, who might be the best post player the Huskies ever had, added 14 points, 12 rebounds, five blocked shots, two assists and two steals in the winning effort. She averaged 18.7 points and 15.7 rebounds per game in Fredericton.

    Latvian rookie point-guard Sabine Dukate was also a force in the final hitting four shots from three-point range, while recording 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. She filled a huge hole that was left when point-guards Kabree Howard and Riley Humbert graduated from the program last season. Howard stayed on with the Huskies this season as a graduate assistant coach.

    The rest of the Huskies roster is rounded out by first-rate people like fifth-year post Taya Keujer, Desarae Hogberg, Madeline Humbert, Sascha Lichtenwald, Megan Ahlstrom, Megan Lindquist, Kassidy Konkin, Vera Crooks and Janaya Brown.

    When you meet these players in public, you immediately want to go to their games. They are also great role models for any young girl that has a dream of one day playing at the CIS level for the Huskies.

Laura Dally drive the lane for the Huskies.

    In the present, it now seems unthinkable that the Huskies winning a national championship was an impossible dream.

    All the alumnae that played on the Huskies before the current CIS winning title squad had a hand in pushing the bar higher and higher to ultimately make what happened on Sunday a reality. Alison Fairbrother and Jacqueline Lavallee were part of the dark days as players and enjoyed a national title win as assistant coaches along with program newcomer Megan Pinske.

    After a standout 18-2 regular season, the Huskies went 7-0 in the post-season.

    Their time was now, and a national championship victory had never been more deserved.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Huskies would not be denied

Hoops team erases heartbreak with Canada West title win

Huskies graduate assistant coach Kabree Howard hugs Desarae Hogberg.

    The heartbreak of a year ago seems like a distant memory.

    Last season, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s basketball team suffered a tough 69-68 loss in the Canada West championship game in Vancouver, when the host University of British Columbia Thunderbirds prevailed thanks to a game-winning shot in the contest’s dying seconds. After that setback, the Huskies went on to finish fourth at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport national championship tournament.

    On Saturday playing in front of a raucous home crowd of 2,313 spectators at the Physical Activity Complex, the Huskies weren’t going to be denied a chance to erase that painful memory. Playing their provincial rival University of Regina Cougars, the Huskies trailed 18-15 after the first quarter before hitting high gear.

    They vaulted out to a 37-31 lead at halftime and jetted out to an impressive 61-39 edge after the third quarter. They cruised to a 73-62 victory from that point to claim their third Canada West championship in the last six years.

Dalyce Emmerson knocks in two points for the Huskies.

    “You can’t describe it to win at home,” said fifth-year superstar post Dalyce Emmerson. “I think what lit the fire was losing last year.

    “We knew we wanted to come back and win it on our home court. We knew what we could do and what we could accomplish, and that is what we did tonight.

    “We are so happy. We are going to celebrate this and then we are going to go out to nationals and hopefully bring home another banner.”

    The Huskies, who are rated second in the CIS top ten rankings, advanced to Saturday’s title game after downing the University of Alberta Pandas 78-68 on Friday. The Cougars slipped past the MacEwan University Griffins 65-59 in Friday’s other semifinal.

    Saturday’s championship game started out as a back-and-forth affair that featured eight lead changes.     

    It appeared early on the Cougars, who are rated fifth in the CIS top ten rankings, were going to put up a fierce battle.

    Backed by one of the loudest crowds the Physical Activity Complex had ever seen, Huskies point guard Sabine Dukate started to drive the ball hard to the hold and nailed four shots from three-point range to lead all scorers with 18 points.

Huskies guard Kelsey Trulsrud dives to break up a Cougars pass.

    Fifth-year guard Laura Dally, who was named the most valuable player of the Canada West conference, had a couple of big blocks on the defensive end and poured in 17 points on the offensive end. 

    Scrappy and energetic fifth-year guard Kelsey Trulsrud, who stands 5-foot-9, was doing everything she could to make plays scoring 12 points, pulling down six rebounds and getting a pair of steals. The Holy Cross High School grad was a force pushing the ball down court in transition.

    Fourth-year guard Desarae Hogberg also chipped in 12 points to back the Huskies offence, which helped cause another problem for the Cougars.

    U of S was getting contributions from so many sources that Emmerson, who has willed the Huskies to victory on various occasions in her career, didn’t have to be the focal point for success. She still scored six points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked three shots in the win.

    Coming out after halftime, the Huskies outscored the Cougars 24-8 in the third quarter to build a 22-point edge the Cougars couldn’t overcome. Trulsrud said her side did pretty much everything right on both sides of the court during that stretch.

Huskies guard Laura Dally blocks a shot.

    “We made some huge shots,” said Trulsrud. “We limited their touches on offence.

    “They got one shot, and if it didn’t go in, we came down with the rebound and that started our offence.”

    Charlotte Kot and Katie Polischuk led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points each.

    Following the third quarter, the Cougars looked visibly deflated. A mini 9-3 run by the U of R in the closing moments of the fourth quarter made the final score look closer than the contest actually was.

    Head coach Lisa Thomaidis, who is the Canada West coach of the year, has guided the Huskies program to all four of their Canada West title wins. To her, Saturday’s title win was as enjoyable as the rest.

    “This was right up there,” said Thomaidis. “We lost some very key cogs in Riley Humbert, Kabree Howard and Jordyn Halvorson.

    “To have these returning players and with the addition obviously of Sabine (Dukate) and with everyone else getting that much better, this is certainly the most talented team we’ve ever had. They showed it tonight.”

    The Huskies and Cougars both advance to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship tournament, which runs March 17 to 20 in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In the Canada West Bronze medal game, the Pandas downed the Griffins 66-55. U of A may still qualify for nationals as a wildcard entry.

    U of S has never won a CIS title in women’s basketball. This year’s Huskies squad would like nothing better than to win this year’s CIS title game.

The Huskies enjoy their Canada West championship victory.

    “We are definitely on a high right now,” said Emmerson. “We are playing the best that we’ve played all year. We want to continue that into next week too.”

    “We are coming out, and we are playing our best,” said Trulsrud. “This is where we peak, so we just have to carry it on for next weekend.”

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Rare chance escapes Huskies

Ben Baker quarterbacks an offensive set for the Huskies.

    The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's basketball team were minutes if not seconds away from a dream Saturday night.
    Playing at the Physical Activity Complex before a crowd of 1,802 spectators, the Huskies were trying to win their first Canada West championship on home court. For a program that has one modern era Canada West title win and one national championship coming in the 2009-10 campaign, Saturday's conference title game against the University of Victoria Vikes presented a unique opportunity.
    It was obvious from the outset the crowd was energized with hopes of celebrating a title win at game's end. The PAC was alive and rocking way beyond anything that was seen in the regular season, when an average of about 600 people turned out for hoops games. It was a dream those involved with Huskie Athletics had envisioned when the PAC replaced Education Gym as the home of the program's teams in 2003.
    The PAC was full of a large number of members from all the other Huskies teams, whose respective competitive seasons had come to an end. There was also a big representation for the community at large, who were checking the game out intrigued by the excitement.
    The raucous gathering witnessed an epic contest, which showed Canadian Interuniversity Sport hoops at its best. Unfortunately, the home side didn't win.
    The Vikes pulled out a 70-67 victory. When it came time for the banner and trophy presentations, most of the crowd had bolted for the exits.

Matthew Forbes battles in the post for the Huskies.

    By making the Canada West final, both teams earned spots in the CIS men's championship tournament, which starts this coming Thursday and runs through to Sunday at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto hosted by Ryerson University. In Friday's Canada West semifinal games, the Huskies knocked off the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds 81-75, while Vikes dumped the University of Fraser Valley Cascades 86-61.
    Even with their spots at nationals all locked away, the Huskies and Vikes played like their seasons were on the line.
    The Vikes led by 14 points at one point in the second quarter, but the Huskies roared back to hold a 10-point edge at one point in the third quarter in a back-and-fourth contest.
    Huskies guard Ben Baker, who was the Canada West defensive player of the year, was outstanding in leading the Huskies with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Evan Ostertag came off the bench to provide huge energy for the home side and 17 points.
    Vikes guard Marcus Tibbs had a huge outing for the Vikes leading all scorers with 25 points, while dishing out seven assists.
    The Vikes held a 41-32 lead at halftime, but the Huskies rebounded to hold a 60-56 edge after three quarters. The teams were locked in a 65-65 draw with 3:44 to play in the fourth quarter, when the defences came to dominate on both sides.
    The Vikes outscored the Huskies 5-2 over the final 3:44. The hosts also had a basket taken off the scoreboard due to an offensive charging foul.
    Tibbs put the Vikes up 67-65 with a jumper. Huskies forward Matthew Forbes hit a pair of three-throws to force a 67-67 tie.
    With an even score, Tibbs hit a baseline jumper, which resulted in the game-winning points. Vikes forward Chris McLaughlin, who is the Canada West player-of-the-year, hit a foul shot to give the visitors their 70-67 edge.
    Baker attempted a three in the game's final seconds to try to force overtime, but facing huge defensive pressure, his shot was off target.

The U of Victoria Vikes celebrate a Canada West title.

    Had the Huskies won, they would have been able to soak in the attention from family, friends, classmates and fellow Huskie athletes in the post-game celebrations. The chance for a rare home celebration was gone. They had finished first in the Pioneer Division to earn the chance to host the Canada West Final Four, but those types of regular seasons don't come around that often, even if the team is good.
    With all that said, the Huskies can make the disappointment of not winning the Canada West title go away, if they can capture a second national title. They enter the eight-team CIS tournament as the lowest seed and open against the Carlton University Ravens, who have won the last four CIS titles and 10 CIS titles in total.
    The Huskies will be the underdogs going forward. Back in 2009-10, the Huskies were also the underdogs in a national title run that came virtually out of nowhere. They finished that campaign with 13 straight victories to win it all.
    While winning a national title would make the setback in the Canada West final mostly forgettable, a home court victory party would have been a nice memory to have.

Heartbreak in Vancouver

Kelsey Trulsrud - a heart and soul Huskie.

    A March Madness type finish proved to be the difference in preventing the U of S Huskies women's basketball team from winning the Canada West title for a second straight season.
    On Saturday night in Vancouver, the Huskies led the host UBC Thunderbirds 68-67 with about 15 seconds to play. Huskies guard Kelsey Trulsrud was at the free-throw line for a pair of shots trying to extend the lead for the visitors.
    Trulsrud missed both attempts. Thunderbirds guard Kris Young hauled in the rebound from the second miss, went coast-to-coast and hit a runner off the glass with 7.8 seconds to play to give the Thunderbirds a 69-68 victory. The Huskies couldn't get a shot off with their final possession.
    Young, who was the Canada West player-of-the-year, topped the Thunderbirds with 21 points, while forward Harleen Sidhu added 18 points to aid the winning effort by the hosts.
    Laura Dally had a huge night for the Huskies leading the team with 21 points, which included making 4-of-8 shots from three-point land. Trulsrud, who is one of those heart-and-soul players you need in the dressing room, had a strong outing too recording 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. One of the Huskies most unsung players, it was more unfortunate than anything that she wasn't able to make the two foul shots in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
    The Huskies entered the Canada West final riding a 16-game winning streak and had downed the University of Alberta Pandas 77-61 in a Canada West semifinal match on Friday.
    Both the Huskies and Thunderbirds earned spots to the eight-team CIS women's championship tournament that begins Thursday in Quebec City at the Universite Laval.

Schlemko can be a good surprise

David Schlemko at the 2007 Memorial Cup.

    It only took one NHL game for Calgary Flames supporters to know who David Schlemko was.
    In his debut with the Flames, the veteran 27-year-old defenceman scored a spectacular winning goal in a tiebreaking shootout to give Calgary a 4-3 road victory over the Bruins in Boston last Thursday. The tally was replayed on numerous sports highlight shows.
    The Edmonton product is also in the final year of his current contract and has been bounced around this season. He started the season with the Arizona Coyotes. Entering the current campaign, Schlemko had played his entire professional career with the Coyotes organization.
    After recording a goal, three assists and a minus-five rating in 20 regular season games this season with the Coyotes, Schlemko was put on waivers and claimed by the Dallas Stars. He played five games with the Stars before being placed on waivers again, where he was claimed by the Flames.
    Going back to his major junior days with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Schlemko developed a reputation as being an even-keel player with a nice offensive touch and someone who is just an all-around good guy. He also became well known as a shootout specialist, who score goals in the tiebreaking session with an arsenal of moves.
    In the NHL ranks, Schlemko has only received two opportunities in the shootout, and he scored on both of them.
    Before joining the Flames, Schlemko had appeared in 212 NHL regular season games dating back to the 2007-08 campaign. As NHL teams have a tendency to constantly bring in young prospects, it looked like with two waiver placements that Schlemko might get forced out of the league. That happens to a number of players in his situation, even though he could hardly be considered old for a professional hockey player.
    If he is given a fair opportunity and allowed to use his strengths, Flames supporters will likely see their team received a gift in being able to pick up Schlemko. When the Flames campaign does end, the likelihood is very high Schlemko will do enough that Flames management will be convinced to sign him to a new deal.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

Roll reaches 15 for Huskies

 Riley Humbert drives with the ball for the Huskies.

   It almost feels like an annual expectation.
    The calendar is going to turn to March and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's basketball team will once again be part of the monthly playoff madness.
    The Huskies punched their ticket to the Canada West Final Four for the seventh time in 10 years sweeping the U of Winnipeg Wesmen in a best-of-three quarter-final series 2-0 at the Physical Activity Complex. U of S claimed a 71-47 victory on Friday and a 73-57 triumph on Saturday thanks to a nice fourth-quarter surge.
    After starting the season at 4-3, the defending Canada West champs are currently riding a 15-game winning streak including action in the regular season and playoffs. During the run, they playing a well-rounded game, where everyone is finding ways to contribute to the success.
    While the Huskies have been a powerhouse team, there have been a lot of times in the past where they would tend to rely on fourth-year star post Dalyce Emmerson.
    Actually, the joke with anyone around the team was that when things go bad just pass the ball to Dalyce, and she will score. To her credit, Emmerson, who stands 6-foot-3, is one of those once in a generation talents, and it seemed like she would always score no matter what defence she faced. It almost seemed senseless not to get her the ball.
    She is huge at pulling down rebounds on either end of the court. With having someone as good as Emmerson on your side, you do develop a danger of relying on her too much, even if your team is loaded with other good players.

Dalyce Emmerson goes for two for the Huskies.

    At the start of the season, Emmerson was hampered by some nagging injuries, but she was still able to play. When she wasn't at 100 per cent, the other players on the Huskies stepped up to help carry the load.
    That continued to be evident during the sweep of the Wesmen. Emmerson, who is healthy, was a factor in those victories, but she wasn't the dominant force. The Huskies, who were 17-3 in the regular season, had their biggest contributions offensively come from their guards.
    In Friday's 71-47 victory, fourth-year guard Kelsey Trulsrud led the way with 21 points, and she also pulled down nine rebounds. Third-year guard Desarae Hogberg came off the bench to finish second in team scoring with 10 points.
    Emmerson was still part of the action leading the club with 16 rebounds, but she only had to attempt six shots from the floor thanks to the other contributions. She made four of those shots and finished with eight points.
    In Saturday's 73-57 win, fifth-year guard Riley Humbert fired down three-point shots like she was a secret character in the 1990s video game NBA Jam. She nailed a remarkable 8-of-11 shots from beyond the arc and led the Huskies with 24 points. Fourth-year guard Laura Dally and Trulsrud added 14 and 12 points respectively.
    Emmerson topped the Huskies with 13 rebounds, while chipping in five points and three assists.
    In the series clinching win, the Huskies pushed out to about a 10-point lead on a few occasions, but the Wesmen, who were 14-6 in the regular season, would force a tie score hitting a number of three-point shots of their own. The contest was tied 29-29 at halftime, and the Huskies held just a 52-48 edge after three quarters.
    When things got tough in past seasons, the ball would go inside to Emmerson to force a momentum change. On Saturday night, the Huskies guards responded with big shots to regain the upper hand.
    The host started the fourth quarter on a 9-0 run to go up 61-48 and cruised to the win from there.
    Entering the series, the Wesmen came in riding an eight-game winning streak of their own, so they were a formidable foe.

Kelsey Trulsrud controls play for the Huskies.

    The Huskies ball movement offensively and the success they had scoring outside and inside kept the visitors off balance. The players also benefit from the fact they are guided by head coach Lisa Thomaidis and assistants Jacqueline Lavallee, Alison Fairbrother and Jill Humbert, who together are one of the top three staffs if not the best staff in the women's game in Canada. 
    Going forward into the Canada West Final Four, the Huskies will be tough to beat. They could end up hosting the Canada West Final Four set for March 6-7, if the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds get upset by the U of Regina Cougars in a best-of-three quarter-final series this coming weekend. U of S got its series in early to lessen the scheduling stress due to hosting the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's volleyball championship next weekend at the Physical Activity Complex.
    The Huskies will also soon start encountering single-elimination game type situations, which always makes playoff basketball compelling and unpredictable. With that said, all they have to do is win five more straight games to win the first ever CIS title in the history of the program.
    In all reality, the Huskies are now a short distance away from accomplishing the one goal that has eluded them. Achieving that goal would make for a sweet finish.
    NOTE -- Guard Kaylee Halvorson was sitting on the Huskies bench supporting the team in her street clothes on the weekend. Halvorson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee just over a year ago.
    Her venture along the comeback trail has been plagued by a few setbacks. With that in mind, it was encouraging to see her with the team. Halvorson, who stands 5-foot-11, had been part of Canada's national team program, and her injury prevented anyone from seeing how good she could be.
    She still has three years of eligibility remaining to play with the Huskies.

    If you have any comments about this blog, feel free to email comments to stankssports@gmail.com.