The Quest Kermodes women鈥檚 basketball team rolled into Vancouver Island on Friday and rolled out with a pair of victories to continue an undefeated season.
Quest traveled to Victoria鈥檚 Camosun College on Friday (Jan. 23) to battle the Chargers and pulled away in the fourth quarter to post a 66-50 win.
Shayna Cameron led all players with 17 points and added four assists, while Miriam Baumann had a monster game of 13 points, 14 rebounds and three steals. Katrin Sandbichler added 14 points and four rebounds in the win.
But it was the defence that helped secure the win, as Quest held Camosun to 27 per cent shooting.
鈥淲e鈥檝e played so many games, but this was by far our best defensive game ever,鈥 head coach Dany Charlery said after the game. 鈥淓veryone bought in defensively.鈥
鈥淪hots weren鈥檛 totally falling, but we picked it up on the defensive end,鈥 added assistant coach Kim Land.
The trip continued on Saturday, when the Kermodes traveled up island to Nanaimo鈥檚 Vancouver Island University to take on the Mariners. It was a battle of the top two teams in the Pacwest, but Quest鈥檚 defense took over the game again.
Quest held the Mariners to just 18 per cent shooting in the 50-42 win, and Cameron led the way again with 15 points. Sandbichler added nine rebounds, five points and four assists, while guard Andrea Eidsvik contributed with eight points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals.
The pair of wins improves Quest to a perfect 12 wins and no losses on the season.
The trip wasn鈥檛 as successful for the men, who won on Friday against Camosun but lost to VIU on Saturday. Friday saw the Kermodes jump out to a six-point lead in the first quarter and they hung on for the 75-68 win. Theo VandenEkart led the way with 14 points, while Mike Zayas-Duran added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Connor Heinrich picked up a team high six rebounds and also scored 10 points.
The Kermodes were responsible with the ball, turning it over only 11 times in the game.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 shoot the ball particularly well, but we didn鈥檛 turn it over,鈥 head coach Sean Shook said after the game. 鈥淵ou have to make plays and we made plays.鈥
He also praised the team鈥檚 80 per cent free-throw shooting, noting that the Chargers only shot 60 per cent from the line.
Quest then ran into a hot Mariners team in Nanaimo on Saturday. VIU took over in the second half and won 93-82. Dallas Searles picked up 19 points in a losing cause, while Zayas-Duran added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.
The Mariners shot 54 per cent from the field in the win and 46 per cent from the three-point line.
The men鈥檚 team is in second in the Pacwest with a record of 10 wins and two losses.
Both teams return to the road for games against Langara on Friday (Jan. 30) and Douglas on Saturday (Jan. 31). The next home games occur on Feb. 5, when the CBC Bearcats come to town.
For more information on the teams, visit www.questkermodes.ca.聽