Make room for another banner inside Quest University鈥檚 Kermode Kave.
The Quest Kermodes women鈥檚 basketball team repeated as Pacwest provincial champions with a dominant 76-48 in the gold medal game in Abbotsford on Saturday (March 7).
The tournament also extended Quest鈥檚 Pacwest record setting unbeaten streak to 23 games in the 2014-15 season.
The win qualifies the team for the CCAA Nationals starting on March 19 in Nanaimo but Saturday was a time to soak in the team鈥檚 accomplishment.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing feeling 鈥� words can鈥檛 really describe it,鈥� said Quest鈥檚 Shayna Cameron, who won MVP for the tournament. 鈥淲hen I came to Quest in my first year I told Toran [Savjord, Quest vice president] that I want to win a provincial banner for this school and he came up to me today and said you lied you got two.鈥�
Cameron, who also won the Pacwest regular season MVP, admitted it was a tough road to the gold medal game. The Kermodes narrowly beat the Camosun Chargers 59-56 on Friday (March 6) to advance to the gold game.
鈥淪ometime getting the first round bye can be really hard,鈥� Cameron said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 an advantage, we definitely felt a little rusty against Camosun.鈥�
Quest forward Katrin Sandbichler agreed that it was a tougher ride to Nationals this year, partly because of the expectations that come with an unbeaten regular season.
鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to win but it almost feels like a release because I鈥檝e felt a lot more pressure on us to win again this year,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur dream as seniors was to finish off our season at least as good as the year before and we鈥檝e achieved that but Nationals will be so important for us.鈥�
The Kermodes run to the Nationals last year in Montreal was a short experience, as the team lost all three games it competed in. The players said 2015 should be different.
鈥淟ast year the Nationals was just kind of a plus on top of our year,鈥� Sandbichler said. 鈥淲inning provincials is awesome but we鈥檙e definitely looking for Nationals. I don鈥檛 know what to expect because teams from Quebec or Alberta will be really good 鈥� we don鈥檛 underestimate them at all but I think we have more maturity and know what鈥檚 going on at Nationals this year.鈥�
Cameron said last year鈥檚 experience should help the team.
鈥淚t was nerve wracking last year because you have no idea what to expect but we have more experience now and know what to expect,鈥� she said.
Quest head coach Dany Charlery said his team responded well at provincials and that he鈥檚 looking forward to taking on Canada鈥檚 best.
鈥淭his one was harder man 鈥� a lot harder,鈥� he said. 鈥淐amosun matched up really well with us and Douglas is a really good team with so many weapons. I think it was harder for us because of all the expectations.鈥�
He said last year鈥檚 Nationals run was shorter than he liked.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 what we expected last year,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had an injury to one of our best players but you have to be able to adjust because anything can happen. We have to take it one game at a time.鈥�
Charlery praised the play of his bench over the tournament and said it鈥檚 a nice way for his seniors and departing assistant coach Kim Land to end their careers at Quest.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge because not everyone gets a chance to play in Nationals,鈥� he said. 鈥淜im has been one of the best things in our program and has meant a lot to the team and me.鈥�
Sandbichler said she鈥檚 happy to leave two banners in the gym and leave a legacy for the future of the sport at Quest.
鈥淚 think we鈥檝e helped establish a basketball culture at Quest,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen we have home games we always have a crowd and people on campus know what鈥檚 going on. When I first got to Quest that wasn鈥檛 the case.鈥�
The CCAA Nationals feature the top eight teams in the country battling it out for the title of best in Canada. Complete details and a schedule for the event still need to be ironed out but it鈥檚 expected that the Kermodes should be one of the top ranked teams. It all kicks off on March 19 in Nanaimo.
Read The 麻豆社国产 for details on the team鈥檚 results at Nationals.
