Bobcats Round-Up
All four Bobcat athletic teams are reaching the halfway point in the 2009-2010 season, and the story of their status in CIS play is in the stats. With a break beginning through the month of December, spanning all the way until mid-January for each club, it’s “midterm evaluation” time for the Bobcats.
For the women’s basketball team, pressure is on head coach Jamie Hickson more than ever to produce in her fourth year as the Lady ‘Cats’ bench boss. Although the team sits at a 0-6 record and bottoms out many team stats on the Canada West Conference’s lists—there are few, but still some triumphs recorded as well: In the Scoring Defense grouping, Brandon sits just out of reach of the top ten at 11th, as they do in the Free Throw Percentage list. More notably, they sit at 10th on the Rebounding Offense and top the crop at 1st on the Rebounding Defense side of things. Other positives include Blocked Shots (5th), and Steals (5th). Pair those stats with some impressive notes with Nicisha Johnson, Amanda Fortin, Jayla Bousquet and Melanie Thompson on the individual stats page, and the Lady ‘Cats just might be showing some potential to lay a solid foundation.
In men’s hoops, Brandon currently sits closer to the middle of the road with a current 1-5 record in Canada West Conference play. They currently sit in second last in the Canada West Prairie Division, but might need a little extra if they plan to advance beyond division play this season. As of November 17th, the team did not make CIS top-ten standings, however the Bobcats will be looking to produce in their second half and push through to higher ground.
In men’s volleyball action, the ‘Cats continue sitting pretty at 9th in CIS standings. With a 3-3 record, they will need to finish out the first half with some W’s to keep up to the big boys in Canada West. Stats record defense as BU’s strong point as they sit second only to powerhouse Trinity Western in digs, with Scott Neufeld averaging at over 3/game. That combined with a good showing in the categories of Serving Aces and Kills, and the Bobcats are well on their way to seeing similar success that they had in the 2008-2009 season.
The women’s volleyball team has a current hold in the 7th spot in CIS rankings, sitting slightly better than their male counterparts at a 4-2 record. Their 2-0 record at home is a welcome figure, as the ladies will make their few matches against University of Winnipeg at the BU gym, Nov. 21 & 22. Although their stats are currently unavailable at the CIS website, the team remains strong and hopes to build on their current success and winning record.
As all sports fans know, the stats don’t lie, and with it being gut check time four all four Bobcat teams, the second half will be sure to see major moves in terms of standings with each team. Go Bobcats!
