WBB: Timberwolves come back to take down Cougars

Athletics
November 27, 2015

It wasn’t necessarily how the UNBC women’s basketball Timberwolves drew it up, but they found their way into the win column.

Down by 16 late in the third quarter, the Timberwolves stormed back with a 26-point fourth quarter to defeat the Mount Royal Cougars 67-60 in Calgary on Friday, snapping a six-game losing streak for the Timberwolves while extending Mount Royal’s slide to seven games.

Maria Mongomo paced the Timberwolves in all aspects of the game with 22 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Hannah Pudlas also had a strong game with 13 points, six rebounds and four steals, while Preety Nijjar had nine points and nine rebounds.

Kylie Pozniak, playing in her hometown, contributed nine points and eight boards for the Timberwolves, who outrebounded Mount Royal 51-40.

Melissa Moore led Mount Royal with 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks, while Angela Driscoll posted 15 points and four rebounds.

UNBC took advantage of Mount Royal’s ball handling, scoring 24 of its points off Cougar turnovers.

The Timberwolves and Cougars were evenly matched in early going, though a 9-3 run put the Cougars up 16-10 after one quarter, with Mongomo accounting for eight of UNBC’s points.

The Timberwolves found their offensive game in the second quarter, cutting Mount Royal’s lead to 21-19 and forcing Cougars head coach Nathan McKibbon to call a timeout.
Momentum shifted immediately after, as Mount Royal closed the quarter strong to take a 35-25 lead into halftime.

Neither team got off to a particularly strong start in the second half, as the Timberwolves were unable to take a chunk out of the Cougars’ advantage. Mount Royal asserted themselves in the middle section of the quarter, stretching its lead out to as much as 16 at one point. However, the Timberwolves closed the frame on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 50-41 with 10 minutes to play.

That set the stage for UNBC’s takeover in the fourth quarter, riding the momentum of the previous frame to tie the game at 54-54 before seizing control in the last few minutes, with a late three-pointer from Mongomo putting the Timberwolves over the top.

All told, UNBC finished the game on a 33-10 run to take the opening half of the doubleheader. The Timberwolves and Cougars will conclude the first half of their seasons tomorrow in Calgary at 5 p.m. Mountain time (4 p.m. Pacific).