Photo Credit: Jan Bosmann, BosmannPhotography

NEW WESTMINSTER, BC – Regina Cougars basketball forward Jonathan Hull and Calgary Dinos hockey forward Hayley Wickenheiser were named the Canada West 1st Stars of the Week after their impressive outings, both leading their teams to sweeps over the weekend of conference play.

Tull totalled 51 points and 16 rebounds over the two wins versus the Brandon Bobcats, while Wickenheiser registered three assists (including one on an overtime game-winner) and a game-winning goal over the Dinos’ two-game road sweep against the UBC Thunderbirds.

Also honoured this week are UNBC basketball’s Franco Kouagnia and Winnipeg volleyball’s Casey Schouten for the men, and Regina basketball’s Katie Polischuk and Saskatchewan volleyball’s Jina Barker for the women.

MEN.

1st Star: #6 Jonathan Tull, Regina (Basketball)

The University of Regina men’s basketball team collected its first weekend sweep of the Canada West season on Friday and Saturday at home against Brandon, and once again it was fourth-year transfer Jonathan Tull leading the charge for the Cougars.
 
In Friday’s 102-82 win, Tull tied for the game-high with 22 points and added five rebounds for the U of R. And he was even better on Saturday, finishing with a season-high 29 points in the team’s 98-87 victory. He also pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds for his first double-double as a Cougar, and also had three assists and three steals while playing just under 40 minutes.
 
Pursuing a master’s degree in sociology, Tull is tied for the Canada West lead with an average of 20.5 points per game and also leads the U of R in both assists and blocks. Now at the December break, the Cougars have a 5-5 record and sit in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Pioneer Division.

2nd Star: #10 Franco Kouagnia, UNBC (Basketball)

The UNBC Timberwolves men’s basketball team recorded their first weekend sweep since their first season in the Canada West. The Timberwolves took two wins against the UBC Okanagan Heat largely in part to the efforts of Franco Kouagnia.
 
In the Timberwolves Friday night victory, Kouagnia put up his second double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Down the stretch it was his offensive and defensive efforts that enabled the Timberwolves to hold on to the lead – 13 of the fifth year forwards points were scored in the fourth quarter alone.
 
On Saturday night, Kouagnia came out strong from the beginning, dominating in the paint for UNBC. Kouagnia hit the double-double mark halfway through the third quarter and didn’t slow down. He finished the game with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Added to his performance was a season-high 85 percent from the foul line (11/13) which was clutch down the stretch in keeping the Timberwolves ahead of the Heat. Kouagnia finished the weekend with 41 points and 25 rebounds, leading the Timberwolves to their first two-win weekend since 2012. The Timberwolves now sit at 3-5, just one game back from playoff position.

3rd Star: #10 Casey Schouten, Winnipeg (Volleyball)

Third-year outside hitter Casey Schouten was on top of his game in leading the #6-ranked University of Winnipeg Wesmen to a two-match sweep over the #9-ranked Mount Royal University Cougars this past weekend in Winnipeg.

In Friday’s opening match of the weekend series, Schouten was a force, finishing with a match-high 23 kills, while making only four errors in a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) win. He completed the match with a hitting percentage of .543. He also had three service aces to go along with five defensive digs.

On Saturday, the 6-5 Schouten had a match-high 11 kills in another 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-13) win that completed the weekend sweep. He finished the match with a hitting percentage of .471 while making only three attacking errors. Once again a force at the service line, he had four service aces and also finished with five digs and two blocks.

Schouten is currently second in the Canada West Men’s Volleyball conference in total kills with 218 and tied for first with 24 service aces.

The Wesmen currently have an 11-3 record heading into the December break. Winnipeg will resume conference play on January 9-10 with a showdown in Edmonton against the #1-ranked Alberta Golden Bears.
 
WOMEN.
1st Star: #22 Hayley Wickenheiser, Calgary (Hockey)

The Dinos finished off the first half of the season in Vancouver where they swept the UBC Thunderbirds, November 28-29.
 
Four-time gold medallist Hayley Wickenheiser was stellar both nights for the Dinos. In Calgary’s 4-3 OT win over UBC, the Olympian assisted on three of four goals including the overtime winner. The following day, Wickenheiser scored the game-winning goal in the third period to lift the Dinos to the 2-1 win.
The Dinos now head into the second half of the season with a 9-3-4 record and in second place with 30 points.

2nd Star: #3 Katie Polischuk, Regina (Basketball)

Third-year guard Katie Polischuk led the University of Regina women’s basketball team to a weekend sweep over Brandon, helping the Cougars improve their Canada West record to 8-2 and push their winning streak to eight games.
 
Polischuk had 12 points, eight rebounds, and a game-high five steals in 21 minutes on the floor on Friday as the Cougars cruised to a big 101-54 win.
 
Saturday’s game was a lot closer, as Brandon was within four as late as the early stages of the fourth quarter – but that’s when Polischuk went to work. She hit three of her six three-pointers in a span of 90 seconds in the fourth, which was a majority of the team’s 13-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach. Polischuk ended up with a career-high 27 points to lead all players and also tied for the game-high with eight rebounds.
 
Polischuk is averaging 12.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for the Cougars and also leads the team in three-pointers (30) and steals (18).

3rd Star: #7 Jina Barker, Saskatchewan (Volleyball)

University of Saskatchewan setter Jina Barker helped lead the Huskies to a weekend split with the No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds on the weekend tallying 76 assists, 18 digs and 7 kills.
 
In Friday's 3-2 (26-24, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 15-13) win, the fourth-year Business student from Moose Jaw, Sask., tallied 48 assists and a match-high 13 digs. She also added one solo block and five kills.
 
A night later in a 3-1 (25-17, 18-25, 25-18, 25-15) loss, Barker added 28 assists, five digs, two assisted blocks and two kills.
 
The win was the first since 1999 for the Huskies over the UBC Thunderbirds.
 
Barker and the Huskies resume Canada West action January 9-10 at home against the Brandon Bobcats.
Image Credit: Regina Cougars/Calgary Dinos (David Moll)

About Canada West Universities Athletic Association

Canada West is the premier athletic conference in the country and is home to champion student-athletes that excel on the field, in the classroom and in their communities.  As the winningest conference in the CIS with over 100 national championships in the past decade, Canada West and its 17 member institutions commit to a student-athlete experience where competitive excellence, scholarship and sportsmanship equally contribute into molding our future professional athletes and leaders. Find out more by logging on CanadaWest.org and following @CWUAA on Twitter.

Contact: Pic Ocampo (sportsinfo@canadawest.org)