BB: CGY, UNBC guards battle down to the wire in big wins
Wharton, Shakirova named CW Players of the Week
CALGARY – Calgary's Noah Wharton and UNBC's Alina Shakirova were named the Canada West Basketball Players of the Week by the conference on Tuesday.
Wharton put up 50 points over the weekend in two close contests with the Saskatchewan Huskies. The Dino led all players on the floor Friday. Wharton put up an efficient 25 points, sinking half his attempts. He tucked away five threes and five assists, going perfect from the stripe. Those free throws came at the crux of the game, the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, with his squad stuck two.
Wharton stole the ball, drawing a Huskies foul as he went back on attack. His two free throws were good, setting up an edge-of-your-seat finale. After an exchange of baskets, the third-year guard went right back at the Huskies defence, drawing another foul and nailing his next two free throws. The play put the Dinos up 79-76, and they went on to win 80-78.
Wharton entered the gym Saturday with the same energy, putting up another impressive 25 points, while chipping in three assists and two steals to help the Dinos to the weekend sweep.
His efforts helped Calgary back to a .500 record, as they prepare to make a final push over the last few weeks of the season.
That campaign starts for the Dinos on Feb. 3 and 4 when they visit Regina for games at 8 p.m. CST both nights after a bye this upcoming weekend. You can catch the action exclusively on Canada West TV.
Game log:
Jan. 20: 25 points, 3 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls in 80-78 W vs SSK
Jan. 21: 25 points, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 2 stls in 96-85 W vs SSK
Meanwhile, UNBC's Alina Shakirova had herself another strong weekend in a Timberwolves jersey. The team's captain posted nearly a third of her team's points in an underdog victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen Saturday evening.
Despite putting up 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and a couple steals Friday, her efforts weren't quite enough to best the then 10-3 Wesmen.
Shakirova returned, undeterred, Saturday. The fifth-year guard was electric from beyond the arc, sinking four of six attempts. She pushed the defence back by getting to the basket, then punished them with her jumper. A couple key baskets in the third helped her Timberwolves build a 10-point lead.
When the Wesmen battled back to cut the lead by half with a couple minutes left in the fourth, Shakirova stifled their momentum with a three. Her efforts helped the Timberwolves hold off the Wesmen to win a nail-biter, 66-64.
Shakirova now sits seventh among CW scorers with an average of 17.2 points per game.
She and the Timberwolves will be back in action Friday and Saturday when they travel to Calgary to take on the Mount Royal Cougars at 6 p.m. and 5 p.m. MST respectively. You can catch the games exclusively on Canada West TV.
Game log:
Jan. 21: 17 points, 5 rebs, 3 assists, 2 stls in 72-65 L vs WPG
Jan. 20: 21 points, 6 rebs, 2 assists, 3 stls, 4/6 3-PT in 66-64 W vs WPG