U-Prairie has been a challenge
Despite some defeats, the seasons playing out are worth paying attention to
In sports, the journey is often overlooked because of the value placed on the end result in competition. Therefore, reflection of losses and wins becomes important when analyzing the overall success and journey of a season.
Now that the U-Prairie Challenge has come to a close, it’s important to highlight the highs and lows of the Cougars and Rams playing against the University of Saskatchewan. On September 17, the Rams took on the Huskies at home in a close game, which resulted in an 11-10 win for the Huskies. Our Cougars would continue to struggle against the Huskies in the following weeks, with the Rams losing 23-20 and the women’s and men’s cross country teams also losing to the Huskies.
Our men’s and women’s hockey teams would go on to face tough competition against the University of Saskatchewan both at home and away, as both teams lost all their games against the Huskies. In a thrilling turn of events, the Cougars women’s and men’s basketball teams won their games against the U of S at home.
On November 11, the Cougars women’s basketball team beat the defending U Sports national champions 108-95, and repeated the performance with a score of 85-54 on November 12. These wins helped our women’s basketball team gain confidence and helped propel them into first place in the country. Our men’s basketball team beat the U of S 87-72 on the first night and 75-66 on the second night of competition.
The Cougars women’s volleyball team also faced off against the Huskies. Unfortunately, both games against the U of S resulted in losses for our women’s volleyball team. The Cougars and Huskies closed out the U-Prairie Challenge with the men’s and women’s hockey teams. The men lost to the U of S 7-2 in the first game and 2-1 in overtime in the second game. The women lost their first game 4-1 and won their second game 2-1. The final week of the U-Prairie Challenge was February 24 and 25, and the women’s and men’s track teams competed to close out the competition following the challenge win by U of S.
Although the U of R may not have had the success they hoped for in this challenge specifically, this should not diminish the success that the Cougars and Rams have had this season. The Rams made the playoffs for the first time since 2017, our men’s basketball team made the playoffs along with our women’s basketball team, and the men’s hockey team made the playoffs as well. It’s important that the Cougars and Rams continue to build on their moments of success this season and try to improve their results against the Huskies going into next season.
