WINNIPEG – For the second year in a row, the Duckworth Challenge trophy is staying at the University of Manitoba. The Bisons women’s basketball team got the job done on Friday night at IGAC, out-lasting the Winnipeg Wesmen 77-74 to give the Herd a 3-2 win in the annual series.
It’s the first time in eight years that Manitoba has won the Duckworth Challenge in back-to-back seasons. For the second straight season, all three of the Herd’s women’s teams got the job done, with soccer, volleyball and basketball earning victories.
Manitoba’s win is their fourth in a row against their city rivals, and more importantly, they surged four points ahead of Winnipeg for the final playoff spot in Canada West, while also securing the season series. The rematch takes place at Winnipeg tomorrow at 5 pm.
In front of a packed crowd of nearly 1,000, the two sides put on a show. The Bisons led by as much as 12 with two minutes to go in the third, but Winnipeg pushed back.
A Tamaya Ness three narrowed Manitoba’s lead to one, at 75-74 in the final minute, but the hosts shut the door on any type of a comeback.
With 14.7 seconds left, leading scorer Anna Miko (12.7 points per game) calmy backed down Winnipeg’s Jazmin Birch inside the lane, and then spun to her left for a smooth kiss off the glass to ice the Bisons’ win.
Miko, the Bisons’ game MVP finished the game with 16 points, along with five rebounds, a block and a steal.
“We were just trying to use the shot clock, and I knew I had a mismatch on my back,” said Miko.
“I posted up. We’ve worked a lot on dribbling inside and then turning to a back pivot. [Head coach] Michele [Sung] said make sure you do this, so I said okay, I’m going to do it. I executed. It’s so exciting [to win the Duckworth]. It’s such a big rivalry we have, especially this past week. It was nice getting a close win. We struggled in the past with close wins so this one felt really good.”
The contest was back and forth all night, with everyone getting involved.
Nine different Bisons scored a bucket while ten hit the score sheet for Winnipeg. The two sides also combined for 103 rebounds, with Miko and freshman Paige Schatkowsky contributing 15 for the Herd.
Schatkowsky and fellow rookie Darya Rom earned their second straight starts, and both played in a career high in minutes, at 27 and 32. They were particularly important, with three teammates battling four fouls for most of the second half.
Rom tied her career high with 16 points, while Schatkowsky’s team-leading 17 was one shy of her personal best.
Both rookies had important triples in the fourth for the Bisons, showing out in their first-ever Duckworth Challenge games. Schatkowsky posted a career-high nine points from the perimeter in a well-balanced display.
“I think it was good to represent Manitoba,” Schatkowsky said.
“I didn’t know it was going to be this busy actually. I think we had to put the team first. I knew I couldn’t get in my head. Everyone else had fouls but I didn’t, so I knew I needed to stay there on defence for everybody.”
