By Matthew Davison
Two weeks away from the start of the regular season, the Rams women’s basketball team showcased their depth on Oct. 22 in a 71-48 win over the Western Mustangs.
Rams star recruit Kaillie Hall was impressive all night scoring a game-high 18 points on 5-6 shooting. She attacked the paint throughout the game and scored eight points from the free-throw line.
Veteran Ashley Wheeler shined for the Mustangs in the loss, scoring 14 points along with eight rebounds.
“We got to put everybody out there,” said Rams head coach Carly Clarke. “We tried some different lineups in different combinations and we got some good contributions from different people.”
The Rams dictated the pace in the first quarter scoring 20 points. Their defence held the Mustangs to just four points on 17 shots in the opening frame.
The game tightened up heading into halftime with the Rams outscoring the Mustangs 13-11 in the second quarter.
Clarke said her team’s defence was good throughout the first half, but thought they lacked the same pace as the half went on.
“I think [there were] lots of shots out there that we can actually convert that we didn’t convert today,” said Clarke.
The Rams started the second half with their most dominant quarter of the game, outscoring the Mustangs 29-9. However, in the final frame the Mustangs scored as many points as they did in the three previous quarters combined, outscoring the Rams 24-9. Wheeler led the charge for the Mustangs with 12 of her 14 points coming in the second half.
Clarke’s primary takeaway from this game was that she was able to get a lot of her players involved. 10 Rams players played 13 or more minutes and the bench had 48 of the team’s 71 points.
This team’s identity is becoming more clear as the preseason progresses. They have complemented their core remaining from the 2019-20 season with new talent that are effective off of the bench.
In addition to Hall, fellow National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I transfer Tiya Misir had 12 points in the first half and played with an intense pace all night.
“I think everybody brings a little something different,” Clarke said. “There’s just lots of different pieces that we have and we’ve got a lot of depth.”
The Rams are back in action on Sunday when they take on defending National Champion Saskatchewan Huskies in the final game of the Darcel Wright Memorial Classic.
UP NEXT: The Rams host the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on Oct. 24. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.
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