The Quest Kermodes men's and women's basketball teams still alive in the British Columbia Colleges' Athletic Association playoff hunt but both teams no longer control their own destiny after games on Friday (Feb. 11) and Saturday (Feb. 12).
It was a disappointing weekend for the women's team as the Kermodes dropped both games to the Capilano University Blues, including a heartbreaker on Friday.
"I thought we came out and played well defensively but we turned the ball over far too much," said women's head coach Mike Woollard. "We built a big lead but we didn't take care of the ball and they eventually pushed back."
Quest built a big lead in the first quarter, holding the Blues to only six points while scoring 17 of their own. However, Capilano clawed its way back into the game and got its first lead in the late stages of the fourth quarter, managing to hang on for a 71-69 victory.
Top performers for Quest on Friday included Ruth Thanert who scored 21 points and had six rebounds, and Delainee Behrns who had 18 points and seven rebounds.
It was more of the same on Saturday as Quest had a 43-28 lead after three quarters but wound up falling 60-51 to Capilano.
"The final score was a tough pill to take as I feel we did so many things right on the evening," Woollard said of Saturday's game."We won the rebounding battle 63-44 and held them to a measly six offensive boards in the game.
"You have to give them credit as they held us to a paltry 22.2 per cent from the field on 16-72 shooting.When the ball is not falling, you have to do other things to win a ball game and I am proud of the girls for the way they battled. On most nights they would have done enough, but that is the No. 7 team in the country over there and they hold that position for a reason."
The men also struggled on Friday, building an eight-point lead in the first quarter only to see it whittled away in the fourth. Quest got into foul trouble late and didn't recover, losing 77-70 to Capilano.
"We mentally lost focus at the end of the game," said men's head coach Sean Shook. "We still had an opportunity to win, even late in the game, but we lost our composure. That was the difference tonight - they kept their composure and we didn't."
Quest's Bryce Froberg had another great all-around game, scoring 20 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out five assists.
However, the tides turned for the men's team on Saturday, as the Kermodes defeated the Blues 71-69 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Jose Colorado was the team's top scorer, filling the stat sheet with 30 points.
The win puts the men's record at six wins and 10 losses, good for eighth place. Meanwhile, the women fall to seven wins and nine losses and sit in seventh place. Both teams must win both of their games against University of British Columbia-Okanagan on Friday and Saturday if they want to advance to the playoffs. They will also need the teams ahead of them to lose all their remaining games in order to finish in the top six.
For more information on the teams, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
