It was double basketball bronze for the Quest Kermodes at the Pacific Western Athletic Association season-ending tournament on Saturday.
While the women and men鈥檚 teams each celebrated their third-place victories, the outcomes did not match the expectations for the teams coming into the finale for the season.
For the women鈥檚 team, this was a rebuilding year after last year鈥檚 championship season. It was a relatively young and inexperienced team with a lineup that had to be refashioned during the season due to injuries, among other issues.
The team finished fourth in the regular season and easily beat fifth-seeded Langara in the Thursday opening round game 68-38. This left it facing league leaders VIU on Friday, a game Quest lost 55-42.
On Saturday, the Kermodes faced the second-ranked Douglas Royals in a game that proved to be a tug-of-war over 40 minutes, as the lead went back and forth with neither team able to build up a lead of more than six points. There were 10 lead changes, while the score was tied 11 times.
鈥淲e had to pull it out tonight, and we did,鈥� coach Dany Charlery said after the game.
While first team all-star Miriam Baumann and rookie of the year Jordin Wilkinson were charged with the task of generating offence all season, especially after an early season-ending injury to guard Tessa Needham, other players began to step up as the year wore on.
Charlery said the players were willing to buy into his system on offence and defence and as result, they developed skills and confidence over the season to play a bigger role in the offence.
鈥淭hey bought into the philosophy,鈥� he explained.
On Saturday afternoon, rookie forward Emily Lachenmayer, for example, was a force in the paint, providing rebounds and low-post scoring to finish with 11 points and eight boards.
All game, the two teams fought a seesaw battle and were tied 55-55 with 55.4 seconds left on the clock. With 6.3 seconds left, Wilkinson sunk a three-pointer to give Quest a lead.
Douglas tried to get a quick bucket but threw the ball away, then had to resort to fouls to stop the clock. Wilkinson was able to seal the 60-55 victory by sinking the two free throws.
Wilkinson lead Quest in scoring with 18 points while Baumann, named player of the game, added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The men鈥檚 bronze game had a different tone, tied four times and with only one late lead change, but it was the one that mattered.
The Kermodes had clearly been the second-best team all season behind top-ranked VIU. (Both VIU teams went on to win gold in the finals.)
The Kermodes entered the tournament with a first-round bye, which put them up against sixth-place Camosun on Friday. Despite jumping out to an early lead, they let their lower-seed opponents back into the game and fell behind, fought back to get close at the end of three quarters but eventually succumbed to an 84-64 upset.
鈥淲e spent so much time digging ourselves out of a hole,鈥� said coach Sean Shook.
This left the Kermodes competing for the bronze against Capilano instead of playing the gold-medal game.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough medal because nobody wants to be in this game,鈥� Shook said.
From the outset, they trailed and could never seem to string together enough of a run to catch up to Capilano. Often the Kermodes trailed by double digits, although they cut the deficit to nine at the half.
In the third, first team all-star Dallas Searles pushed the offence, but still Quest trailed by nine at the end of the quarter.
For much of the game, the offence sputtered. Most notably, Searles鈥� fellow first team all-star Theo VandenEkart seemed absent. As pure a shooter as the team has, he was hardly able to get open for shots, and when he did, had little luck sinking them.
Somehow, in the dying minutes, the team put together enough of a run, pulling within three off a Mike Zayas three-pointer.
VandenEkart was not to be silenced, though, as he made a game-saving leap near half-court to break up a Capilano inbounds pass, then fired the ball to Searles on the wing, who sank the three-pointer to knot the game at 82-82.
In overtime, it looked like the Kermodes had used up all their energy, as Capilano jumped out to an early lead again, but the team rallied for a second comeback, as VandenEkart started sinking baskets and propelled the team to a 93-90 lead.
Capilano had one more chance as their star guard Martin Bogajev launched a long three-pointer that missed the mark, giving Quest a win that unexpectedly felt like an upset.
Forward Mike West, also named to the league鈥檚 rookie team, was named player of the game for his ferocious work getting points in the paint whenever Quest needed a spark.
鈥淗e鈥檚 physical鈥�. He鈥檚 either going to go over you or through you,鈥� Shook said.
West led the team in scoring with 26 points while Searles added 22. Noah DeRappard-Yuswack, Zayas and VandenEkart each scored in double figures.
Baumann and Searles were later named to the women and men鈥檚 tournament all-star teams, respectively.
