Women's Basketball Semester Recap | December 14, 2017

With the first semester in the books, the Lakeland Rustlers Women's Basketball team sits atop the North Division with a 9-3 record.  The team started the season 6-0, sweeping their first three weekends and earning themselves a place in the national rankings. 

The Rustlers would go 3-3 in their final six games of the semester, splitting the weekend series with the Concordia Thunder, Keyano Huskies, and Augustana Vikings.

Through the first half of the season, the Rustlers are averaging 68.3 points per game (ppg) while giving up 58.9 ppg.  First year guard Kaitlyn Tonita leads the Rustlers with 10.9 ppg, while fifth year forward Shania Magnusson adds 9.3 ppg.  Magnusson also averages 5.5 rebounds per game while third year forward Brianne Hergott leads the team with 6.7 per game. 

Rustlers Head Coach Chris King was pleased with what he saw from his team in the first semester, but like any coach, King sees areas for improvement. 

"Overall I would say we had a pretty strong first semester," King said, "despite being hampered by injuries, especially late in the semester.  Shi (Shania Magnusson) and Kait (Kaitlyn Tonita) have both been playing well for us.  In the second semester, we need to be more consistent, play more physical and continue to improve with the amount of youth we have on our team.  The North/South Challenge in Edmonton to start the New Year will be good for us, giving us a chance to face two of the top teams in the South.  Then we start the second half of the regular season playing the nationally ranked powerhouse Keyano Huskies, so we will face plenty of tough competition to start the semester."

The Rustlers head to Edmonton January 5th and 6th to take place in the North/South Challenge. 

The regular season for the Rustlers resumes January 19th and 20th when the team heads to Fort McMurray to take on the Huskies.  The Rustlers will return home to face the Grande Prairie Wolves January 26th and 27th.