SAULT COLLEGE WOMEN IMPROVING BUT...

BARRIE -- The women's basketball team at Sault College, a first-year entry in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association, came away winless from a weekend road trip here, though marginal improvement was made. The Cougars, a collection of walk-ons without prior OCAA experience, lost all three of their games at the Georgian Invitational Tournament, 83-44 to top-ranked Durham, 71-36 to Redeemer, and 68-58 to host Georgian. * In the tournament opener, Sault College trailed Durham -- a powerful squad featuring eight returnees -- 48-18 at the half - though the Cougars were more than respectable over the final 20 minutes, as the Lords held a 35-26 advantage. Ten of Sault College's 12 players had at least one basket in the loss with Lee Ann Faganely and Cara Russon leading the way with nine points apiece and Jen Cronin adding six. * In the second game, Sault College and Redeemer were tied 17-17 midway through the first half before the Cougars fell apart in a big way in dropping the 71-36 decision. Faganely led the Cougars with seven points, while Russon and Meaghan Pluss added six apiece, as nine of the Sault College players figured in on the scoring. * The final game of the tournament provided the Cougars their chance for victory against Georgian but the experience of the Grizzlies paid off in taking a 34-29 half-time lead and never relinquishing it over the final 20 minutes in posting the 68-58 decision. Once again, 10 of the Cougars' 12 players had at least one point. Faganely again led the way with 20 points, while Russon added another 10 and Cronin hit for six. Faganely finished the tournament with 36 points in the three games to lead the Cougars, while Russon hit for 25 and Cronin added 17. The Cougar women will make their OCAA home debut on Fri. Nov. 1 when they play host to Redeemer in a 6 p.m. game at the Sault College gym.