Toni Gordon drives the lane on Saturday. She finished with 10 points (Husain Dhooma photo).
Toni Gordon drives the lane on Saturday. She finished with 10 points (Husain Dhooma photo).
November 23, 2025

Griffins rebound strong to give unbeaten, nationally-ranked Alberta a challenge

Program Tickets Box Score

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – In a game that was closer than the score indicated, the Griffins women's basketball team showed on Saturday the fight and intensity that they severely lacked in a blowout loss to the Alberta Pandas a night earlier.

Although the scoreline will still read like they weren't really in it – (Alberta won 85-59) – the gap was inflated by the red-hot shooting of Annacy Palmer, who went four of four on threes and recorded 14 of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to blow the game wide open.

Realistically, the Griffins found a way to hang around for most of the match, unlike their 79-23 setback on Friday.

"Yesterday's performance wasn't one we were proud of and it didn't represent who we are and our style of basketball," said head coach Katherine Adams. "They dug in today and I thought they really competed hard. 

"Although on the scoreboard we're not walking away with a win, I think there's certainly some wins for us in our program and where we're trying to get to."

For starters, it's the Griffins' second-highest points total of the season against one of the stingiest defensive teams in the country. They incredibly increased their field goal percentage from 15.1% on Friday to 48.9% Saturday – which actually outpaced the Pandas' 44.1% rate.

"I think we were a lot more composed today," said Adams. "Yesterday, we felt rushed and panicked, and thought that we didn't have a ton of time so they had to get a shot off quickly."

A Saturday morning film session showed the Griffins players that 'we have way more time than we think. You have to learn to catch and shoot. The actual pressure isn't what you're feeling like it is in your head.'

"I thought they came out with confidence and shot the ball with confidence, and found each other," said Adams. "I think that was a big part of it. We talked about moving the basketball, sharing the basketball and finding each other. We did that today. I think we had six assists yesterday and 13 today, so that's double what we had. A big part of that is finding each other so we can capitalize on those open opportunities that we had."

Unity Obasuyi, who was shut out on Friday, rebounded with a stellar effort, recording 18 points to pace the Griffins, while Toni Gordon – who aggressively dashed into the lane all night – had 10. Samanth Hickey continued her strong overall play this weekend with nine points and four more blocks – matching what she did defensively on Friday.

Besides Palmer's heroics, Alberta saw three others in double digits as Reece Hall bucketed 20 points, and both Kiah Easton-Ihediohanma and Morgan Harris has 13 points. Palmer's 22-point night included the aforementioned fourth quarter when it seemed she couldn't miss.

"That's what great teams do," said Adams. "We switched things up defensively trying to take one thing away and they really capitalized. They know their strengths and found their shooters. She knocked down shots, which is such a killer when you're trying to take something away and hoping that they miss. 

"They shot 46 per cent from three today and that's not uncommon for them this year. They're averaging 40 per cent. We know that's a risk that you run and they capitalized on it today. But I'm really, really proud and impressed with the fight that we showed."

A glaring stats-line from the game was the free throw disparity as the Griffins were only given six attempts, while Alberta had 16. It wasn't like they weren't getting inside, they just couldn't get any calls.

"I think that we tried," said Adams of trying to charge into the paint as much as they could. "We did our best to get in there and get to rim. We talked about being balanced going to the rim and I thought we made a concerted effort to do that today. 

"We picked up a couple offensive fouls in doing so, and that's parting of the learning process, part of the growth and figuring out how we get there. You might stumble a little bit and get some calls you don't like, but you find that in-between. Hopefully we can see that as an area of growth for us moving forward."

The Griffins finish the first semester at 0-10 and will have their work cut out for them to rally for a playoff spot after Christmas. They're next in action Jan. 9-10 at Lethbridge.