They went winless on Vancouver Island, but the Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) Eagles returned from a two-game road trip after clinching a playoff position.
The KPU women’s basketball team lost 71-59 to the Camosun Chargers Friday night in Victoria and 59-48 to the Vancouver Island Mariners Saturday afternoon in Nanaimo. Their record fell to 5-14 (won-lost) in the PACWEST (Pacific Western Athletic Association) standings, but they remain two games up on the Columbia Bible College Bearcats for sixth place. And with just two games to go, the Eagles are assured of at least sixth place and a quarterfinal game in the PACWEST playoff tournament March 5-7 in Abbotsford.
For much of Friday’s game in Victoria, it looked as though the Eagles might get the win and clinch a postseason berth. KPU raced to a 24-8 lead after one quarter, led 33-28 at halftime, and took a slim 52-50 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
“We came out really, really well in the first quarter, and hit every shot,” said Eagles assistant coach Jen Dudley. “They came back late in the second quarter and we struggled in the second half with getting organized on defense and running our offense.”
Shilpa Khanna with 22 points and Christina Brown with 16 were the top scorers for KPU. Samantha McPhail was the top rebounder with 12.
The Eagles again led early in Saturday’s game against the Mariners, leading 29-24 at the half and 41-40 at three-quarter time. Vancouver Island outscored the Eagles 19-7 over the final 10 minutes for the win.
“Against Vancouver Island, we got our identity back, we were very consistent,” said Dudley. “We put together three-and-a-half very solid quarters. We struggled scoring at the end, but otherwise did very well against a top team.”
Khanna was again the top scorer with 15 points, with McPhail earning a double double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
The Eagles will close out the regular season with games tomorrow (Friday) in New Westminster against the Douglas College Royals and Saturday in Vancouver with the Langara Falcons.
The men saw their playoff hopes extinguished after two losses on the Island. Now at 2-17, the Eagles are four games out of a playoff position with two games to go.
They were stopped 76-49 by Camosun Friday night. Brenden Bailey with 16 points and Matt Cooley with 13 led the Eagles. Cooley also had 11 rebounds.
Saturday in Nanaimo, KPU fell 136-63 to the Mariners. Trevor Schulz with 14 points and Cooley with 12 led the Eagles offense.
