OUA West announced their women's season honours including All-Star selections as the Hamilton Spectator reports Mac Women Cagers Net Honours
ONE GAME TONIGHT IN AUS PLAY 7 PM Eastern/8 PM local Dalhousie (7-9, 16 pts.) at Saint Mary's (7-7, 20 pts.) The Tigers and Huskies continue their cross-town rivalry with a pair of home-and-home games this week on the heels of an exciting overtime win by Dal last week when Devon Norris knocked in a last second jumper to give the Tigers the win. Dal is looking to clinch a spot in the AUS tournament for the first time since 2002-03, Coach John Campbell's first season, while the inconsistent Huskies, likely a 4th or 5th seed, have already clinched a spot and are looking to peak at the right time, which they have consistently done over the years under Coach Ross Quackenbush. Dal needs a sweep of the 2 games to have any hope of finishing 5th - two wins this week will move the Tigers into a tie with St. Mary's however Dal will have only 2 games to play (Cape Breton 4 pointer and at Acadia) while St. Mary's will have 4 to play including a pair of 4 pointers. As well, here is a note from the Halifax Chronicle-Herald: Erik Glavic is doing double duty these days for the Saint Mary’s Huskies. The quarterback for the football team has stepped in for the last few weeks to play for Ross Quackenbush’s basketball team. In his debut on Friday against the Memorial Sea-Hawks at The Tower, the six-foot-six Glavic had two points, a block, a steal and an assist in six minutes in an 83-73 win on home court. He is due to suit up again tonight for SMU in its home game against Dalhousie, but the Huskies may lose him for a while after that. He is planning a trip to Peru.AUS STANDINGS
Cape Breton 12-3 36 pts. 50 MAX. PTS. ACA, UPEI, at Dal(4), at SMU(4), at X
Acadia 12-4 34 pts. 44 MAX. PTS. at CB, at X, at UPEI, DAL(4)
UPEI 7-9 26 pts. 36 MAX. PTS. at X, at CB, at UNB(4), ACA
StFX 8-6 24 pts. 42 MAX. PTS. UPEI, ACA, at SMU(4), MEM(2x4), CB
Saint Mary's 7-7 20 pts. 36 MAX. PTS. DAL, at Dal, X(4), UNB, CB(4), at UNB
Dalhousie 7-9 16 pts. 26 MAX. PTS. at SMU, SMU, CB(4), at Aca
Memorial 4-12 8 pts. 20 MAX. PTS. UNB(2x), at X(2x4)
UNB 4-11 8 pts. 18 MAX. PTS. at Mem(2x), UPEI (4), at SMU, SMU
Playoff picture in AUS: Dal on the verge of getting in Barring a set of very unforeseen circumstances, the Dalhousie Tigers appear poised to clinch a spot in the AUS post-season tournament for the first time since 2002-03 (4 seasons). Tigers are looking to win their first game at the AUS tournament since 1998-99 (8 seasons) when the Tigers advanced to the semi-finals. Dal's "magic number" is 5 points as with 16 points currently, the Tigers need only a combination of 5 gained points themselves and/or 5 lost points by MUN to claim sixth. Conceivably, the playoff teams in the AUS could be set at the end of the weekend as Memorial hosts UNB for a pair of games this weekend. Memorial then finishes their season with a pair of 4 games next weekend at X. X is not out of it yet The X-Men, with 5 losses in their past 7 games, are in the midst of their worst streak since 1997-98, the last time the X-Men did not finish first in the AUS, but let's not be so hasty as to count them out as of yet. In 3 of the 5 losses, X had double digit leads with under 10 minutes to go before blowing them and with a pair of 4 point home games next weekend against MUN, a sweep would propel the X-Men right back into the race for a first round bye at the AUS tournament. Observers close to the AUS know how well St. FX seems to play in the Halifax Metro Center and X's five young freshman already had a taste of action in the big arena earlier this year when St. FX easily defeated Dal as part of the run-up to the ABA All-Star game. It would likely be foolish to discount X and their chances of continuing their 8 season streak of AUS first place finishes. In all, St. FX has won 6 of the last 7 AUS tournaments, losing only in 2002-03 in the semi-finals 72-71 to UPEI (Sherone Edwards and Doug McKinney's freshman season). Acadia's Time is Now Looking to salt away a spot in the top 2 and earn an AUS tournament bye, the Axemen have what could be a season-defining weekend beginning Friday night at Cape Breton and then Saturday afternoon at X. A pair of wins would virtually seal the deal for a top two finish but a pair of losses and depending upon what UPEI does, and the Axemen could be battling for fourth. So it goes in the AUS where any one of the six projected playoff teams could win the tournament in a year of great parity... although CAPERS Can Take Control With a pair of home wins this weekend, Cape Breton can put themselves in the driver's seat for breaking X's streak of 8 consecutive first place finishes in the AUS. A pair of wins would give the Capers 40 points with a pair of 4 point games still remaining. Both Acadia and X would have a maximum 42 points available and the Capers magic number would be 3.
OUA WEST GAME PREVIEWS
8 PM Western (10-9) at Brock (13-6) The Badgers, who own the second longest current winning streak in the nation at 6, need a win to stay two games ahead of McMaster (the Marauders own the tie-breaker and hosts Waterloo). Both teams have had improved play in the middle recently as 6'7" Owen White has emerged as a legitimate offensive threat for Brock while 6'8" Alan Paron, as long as he can stay out of foul trouble, is efficient on the offensive end for Western. Look for Brock's defensive stopper Mike Kemp to shadow 6'3" Andrew Wedemire when he's on the floor and expect an exciting point guard matchup between flashy 6'2" Matt Curtis and 5'9" Brad Rootes. Both teams have capable shooters who can stretch defences so expect a higher scoring affair than in the first game between these two teams when Brock defeated Western in London 74-68.
8 PM Waterloo (6-14) at McMaster (11-8) 93.3 CFMU Internet audio broadcast Mac, a full two games out of first place is chasing Brock and Windsor for a bye in the first round and owns the tie-breaker in both scenarios (2-0 vs. Brock and better record vs. OUA West opponents than Windsor). Marauders will need help prior to next Wednesday's first-place-deciding game between Brock and Windsor, which ensures at least one of the teams ahead of Mac will lose at least one more time. As well, the Marauders must run the table themselves and have Guelph and Western after tonight's game against the Warriors, playing only for pride. Mac's 5'9" fifth-year guard Martin Ajayi is the OUA West's leading scorer at 21.7 ppg while 6'8" Adam Steiner, who had been averaging 23.8 ppg and 10.3 rpg while shooting .576 from the floor and 85% from the foul line over a 6 game stretch prior to Saturday's loss at Laurier in which he struggled with a hand injury (3-13 from the floor), looks to continue his all-conference-type play against the Warrior front line. Steiner, who has averaged 19.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game after the holidays, has made his last 19 consecutive free throws and 27 of his last 29 from the stripe.
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