The Quest University Kermodes men's and women's basketball teams' seasons are officially over after being eliminated by the University of British Columbia-Okanagan (UBC-O) on the weekend.
Both teams dropped two games apiece to the Heat and men's head coach Sean Shook admitted missing out on the playoffs was a bitter pill to swallow.
"I'm definitely disappointed," he said. "The guys put a lot of time in working hard and I felt like we were really close in a number of games."
Shook said he felt the four straight losses to Langara and Douglas in November really hurt the team's chances. But he was impressed with the way the team bounced back in the second half of the season.
"I think the trip over the holidays to Arizona really helped us," he said. "We had a good stretch near the end of the year where we won five of seven games and I think we were a lot better in the second half of the year."
He pointed to the win on Feb. 12 against Capilano as a highlight for the team.
"It was a must-win game for us to stay alive in the playoffs and we won by two," he said. "It was just a big character win."
Before next season, the men's team will lose key veterans Bryce Froberg and John Pankratz, along with twins Tyler and Kyle Thorau, to graduation, but Shook said he assumes everybody else should be back. The team finished with a final record of six wins and 12 losses, good for eighth place in the B.C. Colleges Athletic Association standings.
For the women, it was also a abrupt end to their season. The team lost its final four games and narrowly missed qualifying for the postseason, despite outscoring their opponents by 89 points over the course of the season.
"It was my first year and five of our players' first year and I think we're really on the cusp of being able to compete to win it all," said head coach Mike Woollard. "We made a lot of progress from the start of the year and I think no one wanted to see us in the playoffs."
His team lost several close games but Woollard said sometimes you have to learn how to lose before you can learn how to win.
"It's a building process," he said. "You need to play in and experience tight games before you can win them. I expect this time next year we'll be talking about us in the playoffs."
Woollard pointed to the Kermodes' 74-55 win against Langara on Nov. 20 as a highlight for the team. He noted that it was the first time Quest had ever beaten a nationally ranked team.
The women's team will lose Allie Chalke and Brittany Harteveld to graduation but Woollard expects eight or nine players to return. Finishing with a record of seven wins and 11 losses, the team placed seventh in their division.
Coaches will conduct exit interviews with the players in the coming weeks and then move on to recruiting and reloading for the 2011-'12 season. There could also potentially be exhibition games and tournaments in the spring but details are forthcoming.
For more information on the teams, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
