Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams were able to find success in the ExtraMile Arena in their latest games. The men’s team defeated Montana Tech 88-57 on Sunday, Dec. 19 and the women’s team crushed Warner Pacific 90-39 on Monday, Dec. 20.
The men’s team followed up their impressive win over Santa Clara with another victory over a high-powered Montana Tech team.
The Broncos have struggled early in the season, starting off with a 3-4 record and sitting dead last in the Mountain West division. The team gathered itself and went on a five-game win streak to improve their record to 8-4 and sit in sixth place in the Mountain West.
“I thought we played really good team basketball,” said fifth year senior guard Emmanuel Akot. “Our togetherness is really showing and our ability to bring each other up and our friendship is helping us really connect out there on the court right now. We’re hoping to keep it going, but it’s an everyday process to get better and we’re going to do that.”
Sophomore guard Kasean Pryor made the most of his time on the court, making five of his six field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers for 14 points in 11 minutes.
“We got a lot of guys on this team that come to practice every day that work really hard and they maybe don’t get rewarded or they don’t get the opportunity, because that’s just college athletics,” head coach Leon Rice said. “It’s really hard to just keep showing up every day and keep grinding, and that’s why I’m so proud of Kasean, because I’ve been holding him to a high standard. I know he can be a really, really good player.”
Photo by Corissa Campbell | The Arbiter
The women’s team was able to come up with a victory of their own a day after the men’s team defeated Montana Tech.
The women’s team returned to the ExtraMile arena with a chip on their shoulder from a close loss to Pepperdine in Malibu, California, in their previous game.
“I thought we needed a feel-good game going into Christmas,” head coach Gordy Presnell said. “It’s important our kids work out while they are home, but I want them to enjoy Christmas with their families. We will get back after it right after the holiday and we have a challenge with five of our first seven conference games on the road.”
The Broncos led at halftime 40-17 after finishing off the quarter with a 19-0 run. The team did not let up from this point forward and led by as much as 52 points at one point in the game.
Sophomore forward Abby Muse and sophomore guard Anna Ostlie both scored a career-high 20 points in the victory. Muse had also recorded a season-high 14 rebounds and her third double-double of the season. Ostlie had six assists, which tied her career high.
The men’s and women’s teams will now head on the road for their next games. The men’s team will be facing off against Washington State in Spokane, Washington on Dec. 22, and the women’s team will open up conference play against Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado on Dec. 28.
