It was a bad weekend for the Wesmen, with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams losing handily to the University of Manitoba Bison’s Saturday night.

The Wesmen women’s team struggled without their starting guard, Catie Gooch, who was sick with the flu.

“It was tough playing without Catie, she is our point guard and leading scorer. We struggled as a team this game,” said Tanya McKay, head coach of the Wesmen.

The women still managed to keep the game close, however, at one point tying the game at 35-35. But the Bisons broke through in the late third and early fourth quarter of play. The final score was 67-57 in the Bison’s favor.

The Wesmen men’s team fared worse than the women, with a final score of 92-79 for the Bison’s.

Although functioning with a full line-up and getting within six points of the lead during the beginning minutes of the third quarter, the men just couldn’t stand up under pressure. Manitoba extended their lead to double digits in the fourth quarter after repeatedly ensuring that the Wesmen did not hold the upper hand.

The weekend’s loss puts the Wesmen record at 0-5 as they prepare to face the Brandon Bobcats at home this Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Duckworth Centre.

Published in Volume 64, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 19, 2009)