issue 21 / volume 40

Silver linings

» Women’s basketball surprises at Provincials

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor

MA sports

|, @theotherpress.ca

 

he women’s basketball team

had a bit of an up-and-down
year. On their way to compiling an
8-13 record, there were some big
wins and some tough losses, but
they'd found a way to win when it
mattered, clinching their berth at
the Provincial tournament with a
victory over Langara in the final
week of the regular season.

In the quarterfinal matchup,
the Royals took on the #4 seed,
the Capilano University Blues.
The Blues, with a 10-11 record,
had to be feeling good about their
chances heading in. Capilano
took the first four points of the
game, but then Douglas’ offence
exploded. After a Mackenzie
Brenner layup with four minutes
left in the quarter, the Royals went
on a 15-point run—completely
shutting out the Blues. The game
continued in much the same
way, including a dominant third
that left the tournament hosts on
top 70-39 thanks to some solid
all-round team play. When the
final buzzer went, the Royals were
going to the semi-final on the
back of an 82-58 win.

If the Royals weren't huge

: underdogs in the quarterfinal,

: they sure were for the semi. The

: Vancouver Island University

: (VIU) Mariners had set a

: PACWEST record with 20 wins

: in the regular season, sweeping

: Douglas 3-0 along the way. To

: open the game, the Mariners

: played like the #1 seed should,

: racing out to an 11-1 lead. But

: then, things changed. After two

: baskets from Nanaya Miki and

: a three at the buzzer to end the

: quarter from Chloe Kennedy, the
: game had shifted from a possible
: blowout to a tight one-point

: game. After almost three more

: quarters of the low-scoring affair,
: the Royals found themselves

: down 43-38 with just over three

: minutes left.

Then, in one of the clutch

: performances of the year,

: Kennedy drained a three with 1:52
: left and Brenner found a way to

: tie it up with 1:01 until the buzzer.
: No scoring in the final minute

: meant the teams were heading to
: a five-minute overtime session.

: In OT, it came down to the last

: minute. With 33.4 seconds on

: the clock and the Royals down

: by two, Adelia Paul took to the

: free-throw line—and sunk them

: both. After another stymied VIU

: attack, Kennedy snagged the ball
: and took it the distance. She then
: hit a free-throw with 10 seconds

: left for a three-point lead. VIU’s

: last chance came on an inbounds
: pass with .5 seconds to go, but

: the Royals shut the door. The

: game ended with a score of 50-47.
: Douglas was going to be playing

: for gold. :
: Kennedy was thrilled with the :
: result against VIU: “Itwassuchan :
: amazing feeling knowing that we:
: played our absolute best out there :
: and came through witha win

: against a really strong, veteran :
: team. It feels so much better when !

: you win knowing that you were ii
: considered the underdog.’

The Quest University

: Kermodes were riding a streak

: that had seen them win 10 of

: their last 11 games (including the

: quarter- and semi-finals of the

: tournament), but with the way

: the Royals were playing, both

: the players and the crowd had

: to think anything was possible.

: Just like the game against VIU,

: the Royals found themselves

: down early. A few minutes into

: the second frame, Douglas was

: down 23-12, but then, just as in

: the semi-final, they found a way

: back: 28-24 at half: Unfortunately,
: that was the end of the Royals’ bid :
: for gold. The third-quarter saw

: Quest outscore the hosts 27-13

: before a back-and-forth final 10
: minutes finished the game with
: the Kermodes on top 69-52.

: While obviously disappointed :
: with not winning gold, coach :
: Courtney Gerwing was pleased

: with the team’s efforts: “Tough

: to finish the season with a lost

: but we played hard. We gave

: away too many defensively in

: the third quarter and we dug

: ourselves a hole we couldn't get

: out of. But I’m incredibly proud

: of the way the team played

: through that whole game and the
: whole provincial tournament.

: We were ready to go and I think

: we surprised a few people, but I

: don’t think we surprised ourselves
: because we knew the progress

: we had been making each week

: and we really improved our team

a

sports // 19

  

 

By Douglas College Campus Life and Athletics (Flickr)

chemistry—I think that showed.”

: Gerwing also had a message for

: the Royal faithful, “Thanks to

: the fans, to our Douglas college

: student athletes, and to our

: families and friends who came out
: to support us; as it really meant a

: lot that the gym was packed and

: loud, and we felt like there was a

: real force that rallied behind us all
; tournament.’

In addition to the team

: accomplishments, Miki and

: Kennedy were named to the

: Tournament All-Star Team

: With no fifth-years, and some

: impressive development this

: season, these Royals will be a force
: to be reckoned with next fall.

 

Always forward

» Men’s basketball reflects on the season

Courtnie Martin
Sports Reporter

   

-

é

fter a bit of a bumpy

road this year, the men’s
basketball team has much to
look forward to next season.

At the start of the season, they
were looking far from connected.
However, after finishing with

a 7-14 record and a Provincial
berth, the young team certainly
has some good moments to look
back on.

One such moment was
when they secured a “W” against
Capilano University in week nine
when terrific plays from Ryan
Hopson and Andrew Baron in
the last 30 seconds of the game
gave the Royals a one-point win.
The Royals also fell just short of
victory against the powerhouse
Vancouver Island University
Mariners 83-79 in week five,
proving that the team can hold
their own with the big boys.

“Overall the season was
positive. It was the most
rewarding year of coaching I’ve
had yet, and the guys were great
to coach,” said coach Denis

: Beausoleil. He added, “I thought
: we grewa lot asa team and

: everyone showed flashes of how
: good they can be in the years to

: come.”

Two players were recognized

: for their hard work and

: tremendous talent by not only

: the Douglas College community
: but the PACWEST community

: as well. Andrew Baron was in the
: top 10 for all three categories of

: points, assists, and rebounds per
: game. Baron was also nominated
: as PACWEST second team All-

: Star. Baron averaged 15.85 points
: per game, 8.85 rebounds, and 3.6
: assists.

“It was an up-and-down ride

: for sure. I think we surpassed
: some of the external expectations :
: placed on us, but we also didn’t
: come nearly as close to our

: personal goals as we wanted. It
: was by far my best experience

: as a part of the DC basketball

: program. I think with such a

: young core, if we add some pieces :
: here and there we could really

: make some noise in the next few
: years to come,” said Baron.

Rookie Grant Campbell was

: no slouch himself, as he put up
: more than 30 points on more

: than one occasion. Campbell
> was nominated to the All-Rookie
: team with 16.48 points per game.

“This year exemplified a

: roller coaster. We’ve had ups,

: downs, comebacks, and blowouts.
: We started off with 16 guys and

: finished with nine. It’s tough

: finishing the way we did knowing
: the potential we had starting off

: the season,” remarked Campbell.
: He continued, reflecting on his

: personal feelings: “It went by way
: too fast. I can remember my first
: game in November like it was

: yesterday. As a first-year I didn’t

: know what to expect; I wish I

: savoured it more.”

Alongside Baron and

Campbell there have definitely

been other impact players. Ethan

: McKean made numerous clutch

: three-pointers to swing the

: momentum into Douglas’ favour;
: one of the team captains, Kristian
: Hildebrandt, also had a gorgeous
: three ball; and Bradyn Norris

made some tremendous moves

: to the basket. With another year
: of experience under their belts,

: this squad is ready to take it to

: another level next season.

4

 

By Douglas College Campus Life and Athletics (Flickr)