Samantha Hickey led the Griffins with nine points, six rebounds and four blocks (Husain Dhooma photo).
Samantha Hickey led the Griffins with nine points, six rebounds and four blocks (Husain Dhooma photo).
November 22, 2025

Griffins stymied by stingy U SPORTS No. 2 Alberta, held to just 23 points in tough loss

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Jason Hills 
For MacEwan Athletics 
 
EDMONTON – The MacEwan Griffins have struggled to score this year, so facing the Alberta Pandas would be a monumental task. 

Alberta is not only the No. 2-ranked team in the country, but they're also arguably the top defensive team in Canada. 

And while MacEwan showed some fight in the opening half, it fell apart in the final two quarters as they lost 79-23 on Friday night at the David Atkinson Gym. 

"They pressured and really capitalized on some of our errors to widen the gap more. I just didn't think we had the same fight in the second half as we did in the first half," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams. 

Samantha Hickey led MacEwan with nine points, six rebounds, four blocks and one steal, while Allie Spenrath chipped in with four points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist as MacEwan shot just 15.1 per cent from the field. 

Mashynn Miller led Alberta with 17 points and four rebounds, while McKinley Penninga tallied 12 points and two steals in the win. 

After being outscored 20-4 in the first quarter, MacEwan had their strongest stretch of the game in the second quarter, as they were only outscored 13-9, and defensively, they held the Pandas to just 33 first half points. 

"I thought we had some good scoring chances. I thought we defended tough in the first half," said Adams.  

"To hold the No. 2 team in the country to 33 points in the (first) half, we have to be proud of that effort. We did some real good things on that end, unfortunately, we just couldn't score enough to make it a little closer." 

In the third quarter, the Griffins put together some solid defensive stops through the early stages of the second half, but their scoring struggles continued. 

Toni Gordon's layup with 2:29 left in the third quarter was the first bucket of the second half for MacEwan, and Alberta was relentless, smothering the Griffins on almost every possession. 

"When you look at these games, if you're only focused on the outcome, that can be too broad of a focus. It's the little things ... possession by possession, how do we win this possession?" said Adams. 

"Playing the level of basketball that they are, you can live with them making some tough shots. You can live with them making the shots you want them to take; it's when we have those breakdowns that are gutting." 

Hickey hit back-to-back three-pointers early in the fourth quarter, but the Pandas caught fire in the fourth quarter hitting 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and shot 61.1 per cent in the final frame. 

Penninga hit two threes, Rylee Semeniuk and Sarah Kleib also hit from long range, as Alberta went on a 26-0 run to finish the game. 

"They're very disciplined and so well coached. They're all long, and whatever situation you get them in, there's length and athleticism to contest. They make it tough on you every possession," said Adams. 

"Playing teams like this, there's such good learning that comes from it. You want to play the best teams, because that's how you get better." 

Alberta shut down Griffins leading scorer Unity Obasuyi, holding the third-year forward off the scoresheet, as she went 0-for-8 from the field. 

MacEwan has been looking for more offensive punch from other sources, and Hickey is starting to find her form. She matched her season-high with nine points and her four-block effort is tied for the fourth-most in a Canada West game by anyone this season. 

"She's grown so much in her time here, and she takes pride in her defense and being a rim protector. The scoring is coming, and she's really growing in that," said Adams. 

"For her to step up and hit a couple threes today. We know we need to find some secondary scoring, and we need her to be able to do that." 

MacEwan and Alberta will wrap up their weekend series on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the David Atkinson gym.