Rustlers Come Out Strong and Defeat the Thunder

EDMONTON, AB (February 3^rd, 2023) - Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) Thunder welcomed the Lakeland Rustlers for their first matchup of the season. Rustlers brought their A-Game here to Edmonton, and Thunder was unable to find their footing until late in the game. While it looked like CUE might be able to push for the comeback, but they ran out of time. Lakeland walks away with the win 63-55.

The first quarter started slowly with both teams looking to find their footing. The Rustlers were on top of rebounds and took advantage of CUE's missed shots to lead by 15 points at the end of the first, 21-6. The second quarter started off better for the Thunder, they managed to keep the Rustlers from adding to the board for the first three and a half minutes. As soon as the Rustlers broke through their defense, they came out hot and led by 20 points at the half.  CUE regrouped and came into the third with more composure. Rustlers led by 22 points at the beginning of the quarter, but Thunder played with more energy and aggression. They were able to bring the lead down to 12 and ended the quarter 45-33. In the fourth quarter, Thunder was hungry for a comeback. The game grew in physicality and became a lot more evenly matched, but ultimately the Rustlers will walk away with the win tonight, 63-55.

The One Team Sport players of the game were #13 Breanna O'Connor from the Rustlers, with 5 points and 2 rebounds in the game. From the Thunder, #9 Kaelyn Bryks with 20 points in the night, #9 played with resilience and brought the Thunder close to a comeback. The next and final home game for the Thunder is on February 11^th at 6 PM against the SAIT Trojans.