Kodiaks Sports Info

Perhaps inspired by their coach's gold shoes, the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens captured their first ACAC title in 31 years with a convincing 69-44 victory over the Augustana Vikings in the ACAC Women's Basketball Championships on Saturday night at Lethbridge College.

"I bought these in December for this game," Red Deer head coach Avery Harrison said of his glittering footwear.

 Defence set tone for the win.

 "Our defence really came to play today," said Harrison, whose squad forced 33 Augustana turnovers. "We held one of the highest-scoring teams in the league to 44 points. If it wasn't for our defence, we wouldn't be celebrating today."

 It marked the 15th straight win for the Queens since a 12-point defeat on Nov. 26.

 "They had a players-only meeting that lasted two hours and the next night, they came out and won by 20, and we haven't looked back," Harrison said. "It's been just a real team effort the whole last half of the season. They're a fantastic group to work with. It's the team culture, how much they care about each other and work together."

 Red Deer guard Sandra Garcia-Bernal (fourth year, Educational Assistant, Valencia, Spain) was named the tournament's most valuable player, and she starred again in the gold-medal final with 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

 Peighton Melton (second year, Open Studies, Lacombe, Alta.) was named the Queens' player of the game after scoring 13 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Amy Szymanek (fourth year, Bachelor of Education, Stauffer, Alta.) also scored 13 while Sophie Melin (fourth year, Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden) added 12.

Augustana's player of the game was Mackenzie Mrazik (second year, Edmonton), who scored 11 points and hauled in 14 rebounds. Tayah Fiveland (third year, Westerose, Alta.) had 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Lauren Cardinal (fifth year, Prince Albert, Sask.) added nine points.

 Red Deer guard Heena Sidhu (fourth year, Political Science, Surrey, B.C.) was named to the All-Tournament team, as were Fiveland and Augustana's Kamryn De Klerk (second year, Rolly View, Alta.).

 Harrison came into the game with five ACAC titles on his resume as a head coach, most recently in 2019 when he led Olds College to ACAC and CCAA championships. He has also won three CCAA titles in his 23 years as a head coach.

 Wickstrom, in her first year as Augustana's head coach, was winner of the 2015 Canada West Courage Overcoming Adversity Award as a player with the University of Alberta Pandas.

The Queens sped from the starting gate to an early 9-0 en route to building a 17-7 lead by the end of the opening period. The Vikings shot a woeful three-for-19 (15.8 per cent) in the first quarter to Red Deer's 42.9 per cent.

 Red Deer ran its lead to 21-7 early in the second quarter with the help of a swarming defence that kept the Vikings from finding good shots. The Queens led by as many as 15 before finishing the half with a 31-17 advantage.

 The Queens held a 44-34 lead at the end of the third quarter and pulled to a 55-41 advantage with six minutes to play on a pick-and-roll layup by Melton, which produced a three-point play. Overall, Red Deer shot 20-for-31 from the foul line to the Vikings' four-for-10.

Players of the Game:

Vikings: #14 Mackenzie Mrazik

Queens: #21 Peighton Melton

All-Tournament Team

Clippers: #8 Amber Fichtner

Lightning: #10 Maitlynn Wilde

Vikings: #10 Kamryn De Klerk

Queens: #14 Heena Sidhu

Vikings: #4 Teyah Fiveland

Tournament MVP

Queens: #23 Sandra Garcia Bernal

Honourable Mention Tournament Team

Huskies: #21 Maja Besic

Eagles: #13 Megan Aleman

Clippers: #23 Sydney Latrace

Lightning: #13 Danya Osterling

Kodiaks: #10 Kitawna Sparks