For the first time in the program's brief history, the Quest University Kermodes women's basketball team left Vancouver Island with a victory.
The Kermodes defeated the Camosun Chargers 68-57 on Saturday (Jan. 14) and head coach Mike Woollard said the team was in control for most of the game, managing to stave off a late push from the Chargers.
"We jumped out to a 17-14 lead after the first quarter and pushed it out to 31-22 at the half," Woollard said. "In the second half we pushed the lead to as much as 16 points before the Chargers made a push back, butwe were able to regroup and overcome their run."
Nicola Hitchcock led the way for Quest with 15 points and eight rebounds, with Kelsey Cooper impressing off the bench with six points and seven rebounds in limited playing time.
The win against Camosun meant that the Kermodes managed to leave the island with a split, after dropping a 75-62 decision to the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners on Friday (Jan. 13).
According to Woollard, the game was lost on the boards as VIU outrebounded Quest 56-37.
"The biggest difference in the game was rebounding, where the much larger Mariners enjoyed a big advantage," he said. "We must really improve in this area if we want to become one of the elite teams in our league. We must have a work-gang mentality and go out and get them as a group."
The Kermodes trailed by two heading into the second half and the game remained close until VIU pulled away at the end. Katryn Sandbichler was Quest's top scorer, with 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Woollard praised the defensive efforts of Shayna Cameron, who helped keep VIU's top players in check.
The trip wasn't so pleasant for the men's team, which dropped games to VIU on Friday and Camosun on Saturday to remain winless in regular season action.
The top-ranked Mariners won 112-72. Quest and head coach Sean Shook said he was happy with his team's production but that VIU shot well from beyond the three-point arc. Brodan Robertson led the way for Quest with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Quest tightened up its defence against Camosun on Saturday but fell 68-58.
"We played as good as we have all year for the first three quarters versus Camosun," Shook said, noting that Jose Colorado was the team's top scorer with 20. "They changed up their defence in the fourth and we didn't adjust well enough. We also went through a stretch where we missed five straight free throws in a tight game."
The women's team remains in fourth place in the Pacwest with a record of five wins and three losses, while the men sit in ninth place with zero wins and eight losses.
Both teams were in action on Thursday (Jan. 19) against Capilano University but results were not available at press time. For more information on Quest athletics, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
