St. Mary alum and Lakeland Rustlers' #13 Makylla Vachon lines up against Carlton alum and U of S Huskies' #5 Gage Grassick during a preseason matchup at Carlton High School. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

Back at home

Grassick, Huskies down Vachon, Rustlers in preseason match at Carlton

Sep 21, 2023 | 11:52 PM

Two former Prince Albert high school basketball rivals got to face each other once again on Thursday night, only this time the two were sporting different colours.

Carlton alum Gage Grassick and St. Mary alum Makylla Vachon went head-to-head at Carlton’s CPAC gymnasium however this time around, Grassick was playing as a member of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies while Vachon was with the Lakeland College Rustlers.

Following the final buzzer, the Huskies came out on top of what was a lopsided game over the Rustlers, 80-38. Grassick ended the night with 15 points and talked about how special it was to be back playing in her old stomping grounds as a member of The Pack.

“It was super awesome,” she said. “Seeing how many people came out to support not just me, but the Husky team was a surreal feeling so I’m super grateful for that.”

On the opposite end of the floor, Vachon had four points coming off the bench and said it was nice to be back playing in her hometown.

Warm weather continues

Warmer-than-normal weather continues through the weekend

45m ago

Melfort candidate forum

Infrastructure, affordability, crime major topics at Melfort all-candidates forum

1h ago

Humboldt mayoral candidate

Rob Muench hopes experience as mayor, councillor entices voters in Humboldt mayoral race

22h ago

“It was super special, it felt really good,” she said. “Lots of excitement going into it and I think having a big crowd like that was super fun.”

Vachon sets to run a play on offence against the Huskies. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

The Huskies were in control from the opening tipoff as they led 24-5 following the opening quarter. The Rustlers managed to get some points on the board in the middle two quarters, however they were still outscored by two points in the second, and by just one point in the third. Heading into the fourth with the score at 54-32, the U of S ran away with the game and out scored Lakeland 26-6 in the frame, ending the game with an 80-38 final score.

Both teams play in different leagues, with the Huskies competing in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association while the Rustlers compete in the North Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA).

Grassick said that the preseason game against Lakeland is a nice tune up before heading to Prince Edward Island for a tournament next week.

“Today was a great game,” she said. “Lakeland put up one heck of a fight, they’re an amazing team and I think we have some great film to watch and just get ready – we head to P.E.I. this coming weekend so we’re super excited, lots to learn from and we have a great bunch of girls that are really looking forward to the year.”

Grassick drives to the basket. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

For Vachon, she said the game was a great example of the level of play they need to have when Lakeland hosts the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Basketball National Championship in March.

“Having composure and playing offence to defence and playing to our pace and not letting them get in our face and stuff like that, I think a lot of learning experiences came from it,” she said.

The Rustlers are set to begin the regular season on Oct. 13 against Concordia University while the U of S Huskies will take on the University of Alberta Pandas on Nov. 4 to kickoff their regular season.

—

logan.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com