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In their closest game of the conference season, the Heat fell just two points short of forcing overtime as they fell 78-76 on the road against the Mount Royal Cougars on Saturday night.
In an exciting last few seconds, the Cougars were able to make one of two final free-throws, giving the Ana Evans a shot at the buzzer for the win that ended up falling just short, leaving MRU with the two-point victory.
Jordan Korol was once again the star for the Heat as she finished with another double-double thanks to 24 points and 15 rebounds on the night. For the second straight night, she accomplished the feat in just a half a basketball as she had over 10/10 after the first 20 minutes.
Vanessa Botteselle would also finish with a double-double as she had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors.
Second-year guard Claire Feasby would have a career-high performance on the night as well as she finish with 17 points in 28 minutes of action including two made triples.
Every single Cougars' player that hit the floor scored in the matchup. Michelle Tiffany led the way with 14 points, and Charity Marlatt added 12 points, all of which came in the second half. Marlatt also came down with nine rebounds, making her presence known inside.
First half:
The game started out at a blazing speed as the action went up and down the floor. The Heat came out with a ton of energy, as they tried to take the game to the Cougars.
The two teams found success scoring from different areas of the court. The Cougars hot outside shooting helped them get the rest of their offense going, hitting four of their six three-point attempts in the first 10 minutes. The Heat found their way to the free-throw line early and often, converting all their opportunities at the line in the quarter.
The second quarter saw the fast-paced action continue. Neither team was able to take a lead bigger than four and the lead changed hands multiple times throughout the quarter.
After a last-second three from Jordan Blaskin, the Cougars took a 36-35 lead into halftime. In the first half Tiffany led the way for MRU through the first 20 minutes.
Second half:
The Cougars were able to get some breathing room when Charity Marlatt scored six points in a row. She was able to find her way inside and convert. She ended up scoring 10 points in total throughout the third.
The pace of the game continued into the fourth as the two teams battled right down to the wire. The Heat tied the game with three minutes left after a deep three-point shot from Feasby, setting the stage for the stretch run of the game.
The Cougars were able to respond by scoring five straight points, taking the lead heading into the final minute.
The Heat scored the next four points of the game after Botteselle made a jump shot with 13 seconds remaining. In an exciting last few seconds, the Cougars were able to make one of two final free-throws, giving the Heat a shot at the buzzer for the win that ended up falling just short, leaving MRU with the two-point victory.
"Friday night [we were] disappointed with our start, but definitely got better as the game went on. [We] Showed a lot of fight to battle back [got to within three in the fourth], but we can't keep having the starts that we did in that Friday game," said coach Bobby Mitchell.
"Saturday, we put together four quarters for the most part, one of our better, more consistent performances to date. We had a lot of players who stepped up tonight [on Saturday]. Both Claire Feasby [Feasby with a player of the game and career-high on Saturday] and Jordan Korol with career nights this weekend. But we fell a little short today, had a chance to win with a shot at the end. The shot didn't fall. [The coaching staff is] Very proud of the girls, very proud of the team, and how they responded to coach's challenge [we put in front of them from Friday night] and did their part."
What's next:
Both teams will be back in action next weekend. The Cougars (4-4) will welcome the MacEwan Griffins (2-6) to town for a two-game series, while the Heat (0-8) will be back on the road, as they head to Kamloops to take on the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack (1-5). All games can be streamed live on canadawest.tv.
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