Manitoba talent, international flare highlight Canada West's best
Talent from the province of Manitoba, along with a pair of international talents, can now call themselves Canada West women's basketball first team all-stars.
The conference unveiled it's three all-star teams Thursday, along with its all-rookie squad, ahead of this weekend's best-of-three conference semifinals. Those series both open Thursday when the Saskatchewan Huskies host the Lethbridge Pronghorns, and the Calgary Dinos host the Regina Cougars.
Leading the all-star charge on the first team was the province of Manitoba, as three products of the Keystone Province were named to the top team by the conference's 17 head coaches, who selected the all-star and all-rookies.
Highlights:
- Manitobans Keylyn Filewich (UBC), Kyanna Giles (Regina), and Faith Hezekiah (Winnipeg) were named CW first team all-stars
- Sabine Dukate of Latvia (Saskatchewan), and Vasiliki Louka of Greece (UNBC) headline the five total international players honoured by the conference
- The conference's 17 women's basketball head coaches selected the all-star and all-rookie teams, along with the CW major awards, which will be unveiled next week
- Keylyn Filewich (UBC), Kyanna Giles (Regina), and Faith Hezekiah (Winnipeg) all hail from Manitoba, which was the only province represented on the top CW team.
In terms of team representation, the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds tied for the most honourees, with two players earning all-star status, along with one all-rookie apiece.
The conference's top individual honours will be announced on Thursday, February 28, when Canada West's six major award winners will be released.
You can watch some of the conference's top talent in action this weekend, as Saskatchewan hosts Lethbridge in one conference semi, while Calgary and Regina go head-to-head in the other.
All games in the best-of-three series can be seen live on Canada West TV.
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Wesmen basketball star Faith Hezekiah earns first-team all-conference honour Faith Hezekiah's career year has earned her a spot among the elite of the Canada West conference.
The fourth-year forward for the Winnipeg Wesmen women's basketball team earned her second straight all-conference award Thursday, being named first team all-Canada West in voting done by the conference's 17 coaches.
It is the first time on the first team for Hezekiah, who earned her first all-star last season when she was named second team all-conference.
Hezekiah stepped up and took on much of the scoring and rebounding workload for the Wesmen, recording a career-high 23.8 points per game to lead all of Canada West.
Hezekiah also averaged 10.3 rebounds per game, second in the conference, and became the first Wesmen player in Canada West history to average a double-double in back-to-back seasons.
Hezekiah averaged a career-high 3.1 steals per game, which also led the conference.
The East St. Paul native finished second in Canada West in double-doubles with 14 and led the conference in games with at least 30 points (7). Her 35 points in a win over Brandon in December were the second-highest in Canada West this season.
The Wesmen were knocked out in a loss to the No. 1-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies in a quarter-final series but not before they pulled off a first-round upset at UBC, knocking off the 5-seed Thunderbirds.
"Faith stepped into a leading role as a fourth-year and guided our team through the season," Wesmen head coach Tanya McKay said. "Not only did she lead our conference in scoring, but she was No. 2 in rebounding and No. 1 in steals. Faith is a gifted and talented player who elevated her play to push our program to make playoffs and upset UBC in the first round."
Hezekiah was joined by two other Manitobans on the first team with UBC's Keylyn Filewich and Regina's Kyanna Giles earning spots.
Joining the trio on the first team were two international talents – Latvia's Sabine Dukate (Saskatchewan), and Greece's Vasiliki Louka (UNBC). The pair headline a combined five international players honoured by the conference.
In terms of team representation, the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds tied for the most honourees, with two players earning all-star status, along with one all-rookie apiece.
The conference's top individual honours will be announced on Thursday, February 28, when Canada West's six major award winners will be released.
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Taylor Randall named as 2018-19 Canada West Third Team All-Star
It's the second straight Third Team selection for Randall, who led the Bisons in points per game in her third season at Manitoba.
The 2018-19 Canada West women's basketball all-star and all-rookie teams were announced by the conference on Thursday, with Bison third-year guard Taylor Randall being selected a Third Team All-Star.
This is the second year in a row that Randall has been named to the conference all-star team (2017-18: Third Team).
Randall, 21, was the leading scorer for a Bison women's basketball team that qualified for the playoffs for the second straight year after eight seasons without a post-season appearance. The Bisons lost to Lethbridge 99-60 in the Canada West play-in round.
The Dundas, ON native averaged 16.7 points per game, making her the 11th most prolific scorer in the conference. Randall also averaged 2.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Her defence improved in her third season as well, with 38 total steals good for eighth-best in the conference. Randall was also seventh in conference minutes played with 662, as she played and started in all 20 games for the Bisons during the 2018-19 regular season.
Randall scored a season-high 25 points in the Bisons' 103-80 win over Mount Royal on Friday, November 2 — she would top the 20-point mark eight times in total during the 2018-19 season.
"I think it's great for Taylor's hard work to be recognized again," said Bison women's basketball head coach Michele Sung. "In terms of how our season went up and down, I challenged her with some other things beyond her personal performance and she stepped up to the plate. I'm really pleased for her and it's exciting for our program to be able to build for another two years with her."
Prior to Randall's all-star selections in 2017-18 and 2018-19, only four different Bison women's basketball players have earned Canada West All-Star honours since the Herd joined Canada West in 2000-01.
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Kyanna Giles named Canada West first-team all-starCurrently enjoying a sensational third season with the Cougars, University of Regina women's basketball standout Kyanna Giles was named a Canada West first-team all-star on Thursday afternoon.
Giles led the Cougars to a 17-3 record during the conference schedule, pacing the U of R in both scoring (18.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.8 per game) while also leading the Cougars with 49 steals and finishing second on the team with 56 assists. She had seven double-doubles in Canada West play, and had double-doubles in both of the team's wins over Victoria last weekend in the conference quarterfinals.
"Kyanna has the ability to impact the game in multiple ways," Cougars head coach Dave Taylor said. "She can score, she can rebound the ball, and she disrupts the other team defensively. Kyanna is a matchup issue for every team we play and she continues to add pieces to her game every year."
Giles joins Cymone Bouchard and Joanna Zalesiak as the only players in program history with multiple Canada West first-team all-star selections, as she also earned first-team honours – in addition to second-team All-Canadian recognition – following last season.
Giles and the rest of the Cougars are currently in Calgary, where they'll face the No. 2-seeded Dinos in a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series which begins Thursday night (6:00 MST). The winner of that series not only advances to next weekend's conference championship game, but will also earn an automatic berth to the 2019 U SPORTS Championship hosted by Ryerson in March.
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Trio of T-Birds honoured as Canada West All-StarsA trio of UBC Thunderbirds have been honoured by the Canada West as the conference announced its annual all-star and all-rookie teams Thursday.
Third-year forward Keylyn Filewich was named a first team all-star while fourth-year guard Maddison Penn was named to the third all-star squad. First-year guard Hailey Counsell was honoured as part of the Canada West all-rookie team.
Filewich had an outstanding season finishing fourth in conference points (369), third in blocks (22), first in offensive rebounds (86), and tops in shooting percentage at 60.3%. This is Filewich's second appearance as an all-star after being named to the conference's all-rookie team in 2016-17.
Penn makes her third straight appearance as a conference all-star after a top-15 finish in points and points per game. The Australian also finished second in Canada West total rebounds.
Leading the all-star charge on the first team was the province of Manitoba, as three products of the Keystone Province were named to the top team by the conference's 17 head coaches, who selected the all-star and all-rookies.
Filewich, Kyanna Giles (Regina), and Faith Hezekiah (Winnipeg) all hail from Manitoba, which was the only province represented on the top CW team.
Joining the trio on the first team were two international talents – Latvia's Sabine Dukate (Saskatchewan), and Greece's Vasiliki Louka (UNBC). The pair headline a combined five international players honoured by the conference.
In terms of team representation, the Saskatchewan Huskies and UBC Thunderbirds tied for the most honourees, with two players earning all-star status, along with one all-rookie apiece.
The conference's top individual honours will be announced on Thursday, February 28, when Canada West's six major award winners will be released.
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FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM
POSITION / NAME / UNIVERSITY / YEAR / HOMETOWN
G / Sabine Dukate / Saskatchewan / 4 / Ventspiils, Latvia
F / Keylyn Filewich / UBC / 3 / Winnipeg, Man.
G / Kyanna Giles / Regina / 3 / Winnipeg, Man.
F / Faith Hezekiah / Winnipeg / 4 / East St. Paul, Man.
F / Vasiliki Louka / UNBC / 5 / Athens, Greece
SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM
G / Kacie Bosch / Lethbridge / 4 / Lethbridge, Alta.
G / Amira Giannattasio / Victoria / 5 / Hamilton, Ont.
G / Emma Kary / Alberta / 3 / Calgary, Alta.
F / Summer Masikewich / Saskatchewan / Calgary, Alta.
G & F / Erin McIntosh / Calgary / 4 / Calgary, Alta.
THIRD ALL-STAR TEAM
G / Jessie Brown / Trinity Western / 5 / Langley, B.C.
F / Taylor Claggett / Fraser Valley / 4 / Mission, B.C.
F / Maria Mongomo / UNBC / 4 / Las Palmas, Spain
G / Maddison Penn / UBC / Avoca Beach, Australia
G / Taylor Randall / Manitoba / 3 / Dundas, Ont.
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
G / Hailey Counsell / UBC / Port Moody, B.C.
F / Ashley De Sousa Martins / Saskatchewan / Saskatoon, Sask.
F / Nicole Fransson / Trinity Western / Edmonton, Alta.
G / Maddison Hooper / Mount Royal / Perth, Australia
G / Abby Zawada / Fraser Valley / Richmond, B.C.
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Semifinalists dot all-star rosters
EDMONTON – A total of nine players set to compete in this weekend's Canada West men's basketball semifinals were named all-stars, or all-rookies Thursday.
The conference unveiled its three all-star teams and lone all-rookie squad, as the best-of-three CW semifinals are set to open Thursday when the undefeated Calgary Dinos host the Saskatchewan Huskies. The other semifinal featuring the Alberta Golden Bears and UBC Thunderbirds opens Friday night in Edmonton.
All of the games can been seen exclusively on Canada West TV.
Highlights:
- Defending CW and U SPORTS champions Mambi Diawara and David Kapinga earned first team honours for the undefeated Calgary Dinos
- Fellow conference semifinalists Brody Clarke (ALB), and Jadon Cohee (UBC) were also named first team all-stars by the conference's 17 men's basketball head coaches
- The conference's major awards will be announced on Thursday, February 28
- On the first all-star squad, Calgary's Mambi Diawara and David Kapinga were acknowledged for helping drive the Dinos to a perfect 20-0 regular season. The pair were instrumental in last year's Canada West and U SPORTS championship runs.
Clarke and Cohee go head-to-head this weekend, as they each look to punch their team's place in the CW championship game and a spot at the U SPORTS Final 8 in Halifax March 8-10.
In addition to the first teamers, an additional three all-stars and two all-rookies will also take the court this weekend in the conference semis.
All told, 13 of the conference's 17 teams earned representation on at least one of the four teams.
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Wesmen basketball's Narcisse Ambanza earns third straight all-star selection Narcisse Ambanza made it three-for-three on Thursday.
For the third time in his three years as a member of the Winnipeg Wesmen, the combo guard was named to a Canada West all-star team, earning second-team all-conference honours, it was announced Thursday morning.
The conference's 17 men's basketball head coaches are responsible for selecting the all-star and all-rookie teams.
In 2018-19, the 6-foot-2 guard out of Toronto's Eastern Commerce had his most well-rounded year in Winnipeg, scoring a career-high 18.8 points per game to lead the team while dishing out a career-high 6.2 assists per game, which ranked second in the Canada West conference. In addition, Ambanza was second on the team in rebounds per game with 6.1.
Ambanza posted five double-doubles, which ranked second on the team, and topped the 30-point mark twice, including a career-high-tying 36-point effort in a Feb. 7 playoff win over Manitoba.
Ambanza also set a single-game career-high in a Jan. 31 win over Manitoba when he handed out 16 assists, which was one less than the highest single-game assist total in Canada West in the past 20 years.
"Narcisse had a tremendous season and was impactful at both ends of the floor for us," Wesmen head coach Mike Raimbault said. "We asked a lot of him every night and he did a great job of leading our group."
The Wesmen finished the season with a 13-7 record, their highest win percentage since the team went 13-5 in 1993-94 while still part of the former Great Plains Athletic Conference. They knocked off Manitoba in the first round of the conference playoffs before being eliminated by undefeated defending national champion Calgary in the conference quarter-final last weekend.
Ambanza was named a third-team all-star last year and cracked the conference all-rookie team in 2016-17.
On the first all-star squad, Calgary's Mambi Diawara and David Kapinga were acknowledged for helping drive the Dinos to a perfect 20-0 regular season. Also earning a spot on the top team were Alberta's Brody Clarke, UBC's Jadon Cohee, and Lethbridge's Zac Overwater.
All told, 13 of the conference's 17 teams earned representation on at least one of the four teams.
The conference's major award winners will be unveiled on Thursday, February 28.
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Rashawn Browne named as 2018-19 Canada West Third Team All-StarIt's the first conference all-star selection of Browne's career with Manitoba, as his season was highlighted by a 3.2 points per game jump over 2017-18.
The 2018-19 Canada West men's basketball all-star and all-rookie teams were announced by the conference on Thursday, with Bison fourth-year guard Rashawn Browne being selected as a Third Team All-Star.
This is the first all-star selection for Browne in his Bisons career and the fourth consecutive season that a Bison men's basketball player has been named a conference All-Star (Justus Alleyn – First Team in 2017-18, Second Team in 2016-17; Keith Omoerah – Second Team in 2015-16).
Browne, 23, averaged 16.0 points per game, an improvement of 3.2 points over his 2017-18 season, and good for 19th in the conference. The Toronto native also averaged 5.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Browne was prolific at getting to the free throw line, with a 69-for-94 line good for the sixth-most attempts in Canada West. His 116 total assists were also third in the conference. Browne played and started in all 20 games for the Bisons.
The Faculty of Arts student scored his season-high in the opening weekend at Brandon, with 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in a 101-100 loss to the Bobcats.
"Rashawn was certainly our leader offensively this year, leading us in scoring and assists," said Bisons men's basketball head coach Kirby Schepp. "He was the catalyst for our offence right from the start of the year to the end. He certainly provides leadership for us on and off the court and we're very proud of the fact that he's being recognized and deservedly so."
"He had a great burden in terms of minutes and responsibility for us, he had the ball in his hands a tremendous amount and never once shied away from that responsibility and did a good job leading us."
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Tyvon Cooper's career as a Brandon University basketball star has concluded but he's taking one more piece of hardware home with him. Cooper was recently named a Canada West third-team all-star following his outstanding senior season.
"Tyvon has been a dominate offensive player in this conference for the last three years. To lead Canada West in scoring just shows you how hard Tyvon works each day to improve," says coach Gil Cheung.
"He's not just a scorer, but to average six rebounds per game and four assists per game for us at his size really shows the competitor and leader he was for us.
"As well as being a dominant player, Tyvon has been a pleasure to coach every day for the past three years. He has left his mark here at BU and though we didn't have the season we were hoping for we are very pleased that Tyvon was recognized by the conference."
The recognition marks Cooper's third all-star selection; one for each year he was a member of the Bobcats men's basketball team.
This past season he led the conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game and surpassed the 1,000 point mark in his Bobcat career back in December.
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FIRST ALL-STAR TEAM
POSITION / NAME / UNIVERSITY / YEAR / HOMETOWN
F / Brody Clarke / Alberta / 4 / Toronto, Ont.
G / Jadon Cohee / UBC / 4 / Langley, B.C.
G / Mambi Diawara / Calgary / 5 / Montreal, Que.
G / David Kapinga / Calgary / 5 / Calgary, Alta.
G / Zac Overwater / Lethbridge / 5 / Didsbury, Alta.
SECOND ALL-STAR TEAM
G / Narcisse Ambanza / Winnipeg / 3 / Toronto, Ont.
G / Parm Bains / Fraser Valley / 4 / Surrey, B.C.
G / Greishe Clerjuste / Regina / 4 / Montreal, Que.
F / Brett Layton / Calgary / 3 / Calgary, Alta.
F / Grant Shephard / UBC / 2 / Kelowna, B.C.
THIRD ALL-STAR TEAM
F / Joe Barker / Saskatchewan / 5 / Saskatoon, Sask.
G / Rashawn Browne / Manitoba / 4 / Toronto, Ont.
G / Jordan Charles / Victoria / 5 / Duncan, B.C.
G / Tyvon Cooper / Brandon / 5 / Middletown, New York
G & F / Jovan Leamy / UNBC / 5 / Toronto, Ont.
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
F / Nick Barnard / Regina / Regina, Sask.
G / Alexander Dewar / Saskatchewan / Saskatoon, Sask.
G / Hafith Moallin / UBCO / Mississauga, Ont.
G / Adam Paige / Alberta / Surrey, B.C.
G / Aaron Tesfagiorgis / Victoria / Calgary, Alta.
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Sources: http://www.gobobcats.ca, http://www.wesmen.ca, http://www.gobisons.ca, https://gothunderbirds.ca, https://www.reginacougars.com, https://www.canadawest.org