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The Heat have to win Thursday to keep their title hopes alive. (Photo contributed by Steve Shulhan)
By Joe Fries
Eight of the country’s top women’s basketball teams are here in Kelowna for the national championship, and seven of them have their sights set on knocking off the two-time defending champs from Quebec.
As it so happens, the host UBCO Heat get the first crack.
The fourth-ranked Heat open the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association championship on Thursday at 6 p.m. UBCO is a perfect 9-0 on home court this season and won its final six games down the stretch en route to the provincial title.
But the ladies will face a stiff test right off the bat against the fifth-ranked Cegep de Sainte-Foy Dynamiques.
“They’re big and they’re strong, and I think the game is a little more physical in Quebec than it is in B.C. and perhaps Alberta. We have to prepare ourselves for that,” said Heat coach Heather Semeniuk.
She isn’t worried about opening against such a vaunted opponent.
“I never really gave that a thought…. Every team here is going to be tough.”
Winners of the first-round matches advance to the championship side of the bracket and must win two more games to collect first place, while losers immediately give up their shot at a title and begin to vie for bronze.
“We’re looking to be on the good side of the draw, but we’re just focusing on Thursday’s game right now,” assured Heat captain Jenna Kantz.
The five-foot-eight guard said each team is given their opponent’s final game tape in order to prepare for the year-end tournament, and Kantz agreed with her coach that the Heat will have to play to its strengths in this tournament.
“Our team doesn’t necessarily have a lot height, but we’re all in shape. We want to use that speed to our advantage.”
A Penticton native, she along with many of her teammates expect a strong turnout for their games.
“Most of the girls on our team are local or from the Okanagan, so I think we’ll have a good fan base.”
UBCO athletics director Rob Johnson said the school hasn’t hosted a CCAA national championship since 2002 when it was still a college. He said this tournament will help showcase the city and school, and such an honour is also a recruiting tool, as the host team is guaranteed a berth
“It’s a perk,” he allowed. “For a lot of student athletes, playing in a national championship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Play opens Thursday at 1 p.m. with the top-seeded Sheridan College Bruins taking on eight-seeded Camosun College. Games follow at 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Play resumes at 1 p.m. Friday, with the championship game set for 8 p.m. on Saturday.
All matches take place at the UBCO gym and will be broadcast live on www.sportscanada.tv
Full tournament schedule and details are available online.
joe@kelowna.com
250-575-4303
Tags: basketball, ccaa women's national basketball championship, Heather Semeniuk, jenna kantz, UBCO Heat
