The pre-season is over for the Quest Kermodes men's and women's basketball teams after a stop in Kirkland, Wash., to take on the Northwest University Eagles on Saturday (Nov. 5).
Both teams suffered losses but women's head coach Mike Woollard said it was a good learning experience for his club.
"There were many positives to take away from this game," he said of the 87-68 loss. "We got to play a bigger, faster team than we will face on a night-to-night basis in the Pacwest and we adjusted well to the pace of the game. I thought we rebounded the ball well as a team on both ends of the floor and actually won the rebounding battle 51-39."
The Eagles shot an impressive 58 per cent from the field in the first half to build a 19-point lead and managed to maintain control of the game in the second half. Nicola Hitchcock, who scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, led the Kermodes. Other top producers were: Hilary Young with 15 points and Katryn Sandbichler, who scored 12 points and picked up 13 boards.
For the men's team it was a struggle, as the team lost 98-37 and couldn't get it together offensively.
"We had some opportunities in the first four minutes to keep it close but just did not make any shots," he said, noting Quest shot a poor 15.4 per cent in the first half. "We missed some early inside shots and that set the tone for the rest of the night."
Shook said he was pleased with the play of Connor Heinrichs and Nico Umagat in the second half but it wasn't enough to close the gap.
Both teams kicked off the regular season against Capilano University on Wednesday (Nov. 9) but results were not available by press time. Quest will open its home schedule on Nov. 18, when the Langara Falcons come to the Kermode Kave.
For more information on Quest athletics, visit www.questkermodes.ca.
