Olds finish strong in the seniors final season game

Jake Mclarney, Olds College Athlete

Olds, AB – Olds College Broncos women's basketball team defeated the Ambrose University Lions 106-38 in the Graduating Student-athlete Appreciation Night Saturday, February 29, 2020at the Ralph Klein Centre

The Ralph Klein Center had an unusually strong Ambrose presence from the fans throughout the first half, but this didn't stop the Broncos from going to work right from the jump. Within a couple minutes the Broncos were leading by double digits and were giving up little to nothing defensively. There were quite a few fouls on both teams but the half ended comfortably with Brittney Thibeaux and Michaela Allen-Gullion leading in points and Alice-Fay Pitts leading the game in rebounds with 6.

By the second quarter the Broncos were remaining consistent on the offensive side on the ball especially getting boards on both sides of the court. Ambrose was doing well at moving the ball around but could not break into the middle of the Broncos defense. They had to rely on their outside game but they weren't converting as much as they'd hope to. With two minutes left Michaela Allen-Gullion had five 3-pointers and a total of 19 points, and Brittney Thibeaux had 10 point as well as a few assists and rebounds. The most surprising stat was Brandi Thibeaux, collecting eight rebounds and a couple buckets from the fast break which was really working for the Broncos this quarter.

The 3^rd quarter was very similar to the first in that the Broncos were playing very good defense and transitioning quickly, but they also rotated some players in and didn't seem to falter besides. Brandi Thibeaux also set an ACAC record with the most assists in a single season with 167! The Broncos were still relying on their strong defense to keep Ambrose off the scoreboard as much as possible but they were starting to hit some of the outside shots.

The intensity stayed the same despite most of the starters having played most of the game, but both teams were starting to focus more on offense especially Ambrose. They were starting to make more shots this quarter than the others, but Broncos were playing very aggressive defense and although both teams gathered three fouls each with more than four minutes left, Broncos were not allowing anything inside besides the Lions' free throws and were making some great insides cuts from everyone on the court to get their easy layups. The score was 100-38 with two minutes left and Brittney Thibeaux and Michaela Allen-Gullion were still leading in points combining for 64 with a minute left. The final score was 106-38 for the Broncos.

Player of the game for Ambrose was Myawieka Gach with 11 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. And, the Pit Barbecue Player of the Game for the Broncos was Brittney Thibeaux with a game high 34 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks to go with 6 assists. Brandi Thibeaux had a game high nine assists and six steals.

The Broncos led the game in rebounds 52-28, assists 26-9, steals 15-4 and blocks 6-3.

To learn more about Olds College, the Broncos, and the basketball teams go to gobroncos.ca; like the Facebook page and follow @OldsBroncos on Twitter and Instagram.