Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week
The MRU Cougars women's basketball team split their weekend series against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen and fourth-year forward Nora Luca was unmissable in both games. Totalling 37 points, 4 assists and 19 rebounds, Luca scored with incredible efficiency and showed signs of improvement in her defensive game, helping the Cougars stay fourth in the Prairie Division with a 4-2 overall record.

On Friday night, the Cougars lost 72-76 on Kenyon Court, but Luca put on a show on Student Night, which also happened to be a Summer in November night. With everyone in Hawaiian shirts and donning leis, Luca posted 21 points, five rebounds and two assists on 8-15 shooting from the field, including 1-1 from downtown. Having spoken about her desire to improve her defence this year, Luca also chipped in a block and two steals. Despite her superhuman performance, MRU could not overcome the Wesmen's 25-point fourth quarter and lost by just four points on Friday Night.

Luca's hands were still on fire when she stepped on the court on Saturday, promising to exact revenge on the Wesmen and making good on her commitment as the Cougars took home a dominant 72-55 victory on Kenyon Court. She stuffed every column of the stat sheet, tallying 16 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. Her 7-15 shooting and low turnover count were key in sealing the deal on Saturday night as the Cougars improved to 4-2 on the season with their 17-point victory.

The Cougars women's basketball team will look to continue their winning ways on Friday, Nov. 22 as they face the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns in Lethbridge and live on Canada West TV at 6 p.m.

Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week
The Cougars men's hockey team were the only 2-0 squad over the weekend, picking up a pair of wins against the University of Manitoba Bisons in Winnipeg. Michael Ladyman was instrumental in MRU's efforts, finishing the weekend with three points, all of which came from assists.

Ladyman helped open up the scoring for the Cougars on Friday night, assisting on Robbie Anhorn's first goal of the season and MRU's first goal of the game. That gave the Cougars serious momentum as they scored the game's next two goals to go up 3-0 in the first period. MRU found the back of the net one more time in the second period and survived the Bisons' comeback efforts to win 4-3 and end their three-game losing streak.

The defenseman's unselfishness continued to show on Saturday night as he earned two assists in the Cougars' 4-1 victory over the Bisons. Ladyman dropped dimes on MRU's last two goals of the game, feeding Remy Aquilon and Spencer Moe for their second goals of the season, respectively. The Cougars' offence was firing on all cylinders, putting 50 shots on net thanks to their brilliant playmaking, teamwork and raw effort.
The Cougars men's hockey team will look to extend their winning streak to three consecutive games on Friday, Nov. 22 as they host the Trinity Western University Spartans at Flames Community Arena and live on Canada West TV at 7 p.m.