Victory so close yet so far

» Men’s basketball fails to close out games

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

Urns it seems to be
a similar story each week
early in the season for the men’s
basketball team. They go into
the third quarter tied or with the
lead, and then they lose. This
week was no different for the
struggling Royals squad as they
looked to pick up wins against
Quest and Langara.

The undefeated Quest Ker-
modes strolled into the Royals
court on Friday night, thinking
that it would be an easy win. They
Royals had other plans and scored
24 points while limiting their
opponents to just 15. The second
proved no different as the Royals
continued dominating. They hit
shots from all over the court as
the Kermodes all but handed
the ball to them. Defensively the
Royals looked solid, going into
halftime having only allowed 27
points.

The second half looked
much different for both sides.
The Quest squad tightened up
defensively and squeezed the
Royals out while the Kermodes
went on an offensive tear. As the
momentum shifted, so did the
level of play. During the second
half, it seemed as if the Royals
just fell apart as a team. Greedy
plays resulted in missed opportu-
nities and allowed Quest to claw
their way back.

All in all, the scoresheet

: really told the tale of the game.
: During the second half alone,

: Quest nearly scored 50 points. :
: Meanwhile, the Royals were limit- :
: ed to only 24 points.

The men looked to bounce

: back the following day when the
: Langara Falcons came to their

: court to play. Right off the start,

: the game was heated, with both

: teams trading points. It wasn’t

: until the second quarter that the
: Royals really got into it. After a

: few bad passes by the Falcons

: turned into points for the Royals, :
: the game started rolling Douglas’ :
: way. :

Then everything fell apart in

: the fourth. The Falcons stormed
: the Royals, catching them off

: guard, and blew them away for

: the comeback win. In that quar-
: ter alone, the Falcons outscored}
: the Royals 27-12.W With the loss, :
: the Royals fall to 0-5, sitting at

: the bottom of the standings with
: Kwantlen.

After the matches, coach De- }

: The second and third quarter :
: were filled with Royals highlights. :
: Offence and defence blended :
: beautifully for the team as they

: found a way to make their shots
: count. In the two quarters, the

: Royals scored 53 points while

: limiting the Falcons to 35. Going}
: into the fourth quarter, the Royals :
: held an u-point lead and looked:
: poised and ready for their first

 

nis Beausoleil expressed his frus-

: trations about the way his team
: has been playing: “A big issue was !
: our rebounding. We will not win

unless we do it.” The team hada

|

 

: lacklustre percentage in defensive :
: rebounding in the first game but
improved upon it in the second

: game.

In regard to his team’s sys-

 

Photos by Davie Wong

tematic fourth quarter break-

: downs, Beausoleil had this to say:
: “I think it’s mental. We're individ-
: ualistically offensive minded and

: we need to fix that.”

 

Player profile: Juliana Penner

» A look at the captain of the women’s volleyball team

Davie Wong
Sports Reporter

uliana Penner is a fourth year

player and the captain of the
women’s volleyball team. She
is entering her second year as a
Royal and plays wing. She is at
Douglas finishing an Arts degree
with the intention of obtaining
her Bachelor’s in Physical
Education and Coaching (BPEC).

Penner has been playing
competitively since the seventh
grade and is nearing her tenth
year of play. When she started,
she played for her school,
followed by playing for a club,
followed by beach volleyball;
which meant she played
essentially year-round.

While she played volleyball,
she also played ice hockey and
basketball at a competitive level.
However, after high school,
she made the decision to stop

playing ice hockey and basketball
: to teach outdoor physical

: education at a school or similar
: institution.

competitively to focus on
volleyball full time.

She chose volleyball because
of the games emphasis on
strategy and skill rather than

: physicality and strength. The

: non-contact aspect of the sport

: allowed her to focus on playing

: strategically without having to

: worry about being hit by rougher
: players.

Juliana is in her second year

: of captaincy with the team. Last
: year she had the chance to shape
: the culture of the team and this

: year she is looking to build and

: refine upon that. On the court,

: she isa calm and composed

: figure who leads her team by

: example. Off the court, Penner

: enjoys creating lasting bonds and
: friendships with her teammates;
: preferring to talk about personal
: aspects.

Her goals this year, for the

team and herself, is to be the best
: team in the province and have a

: shot ata National title. It would

: be Penner’s second National title,
: as she won her first with UFV in

> 2012.

After college, Penner hopes

   

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Photo by Davie Wong