BB Recap | WBB on verge of playoffs, MBB finish strong

Feb. 24, 2020 - The Kodiaks basketball teams ended their regular seasons strong, each sweeping a pair of games from the Briercrest Clippers last weekend. 

The pair of wins were crucial for the Kodiaks women's team as they now sit at 12-9, four points ahead of fifth-place Red Deer. RDC has two games in hand and owns the tie-breaker, so the Kodiaks will need the Queens to drop one of their remaining games against STMU in order to qualify for the ACAC championship tournament. 

The men capped off a historic regular season campaign, going 20-1 to finish in first in the ACAC south for the first time since 2011. They will play the north division's number four seeded team at the ACAC championships from March 5-7, hosted by Augustana in Camrose. 

Recaps written by Briercrest sports information. 

WBB | Fri, Feb. 21 - Kodiaks 86 at Briercrest Clippers 76

The teams opened up evenly matched with the score at 6-6 a few minutes in. Lethbridge then went on a 10-0 run and shot good from 3. The Clippers chipped away at the lead, but strong defence and rebounding from Lethbridge was keeping them ahead. The Kodiaks took a 29-17 lead into the second quarter. 

Starting the second, the teams went back and forth with the score now 33-21 in early minutes of the quarter. The Kodiaks called a timeout at 35-23 and the score was 38-27 with three minutes left. It was all Clippers at the end. They played solid defence and were strong at rebounding. They shot good and tied the game up at 38 heading into halftime.  

Starting the third, teams traded threes and Lethbridge pulled ahead 46-43. It was a close game and Briercrest was down 56-47 in the final minutes. The Clippers closed strong, but so did the Kodiaks, and the score was 66-55 heading into the final quarter.  

In the fourth, with the score now at 69-57 the Clippers called a timeout. Out of the break, the Kodiaks kept going and lead 76-61 playing solid defence and good offence as they extended their lead. With it now at 81-66 a timeout was called by Briercrest. The Clippers fought hard but could not complete the comeback, as Lethbridge won by a score of 87-76. 

The player of the game award for Briercrest went to #5 Madison Beattie who recorded 18 points along with 7 rebounds. For the Kodiaks it went to #13 Brooke Baker who scored 17 points, along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds.  

After the game, Beattie had this to say: "I thought the game went good, we got our flow back as a team, and moving forward with our season I think we're just gonna have fun and work hard and try to get our last three wins in."

WBB | Sat, Feb. 22 - Kodiaks 94 at Briercrest Clippers 85

The Clippers were looking to bounce back after last night's loss in this Saturday afternoon matchup. The Kodiaks opened strong from three-point range and took an early 10-4 lead in the opening minutes. Briercrest and Lethbridge both shot well for the remainder of the quarter with the Kodiaks having the slight advantage taking a 22-17 lead into the second quarter.  

The two teams went back and forth to begin the second, however solid defence and shooting saw Lethbridge extended their lead to 19, now up 50-31 with three minutes remaining in the quarter. The Kodiaks would take a 53-38 lead into the break.  

Starting the second half, both teams came out playing solid defence and it was fairly low scoring to begin. The Clippers outscored the Kodiaks 8-2 in the first half of the third. Briercrest closed the quarter strong, but still trailed 72-63 entering the final quarter. 

In the fourth, with the score now at 81-74 for Lethbridge, the Clippers were looking to make a comeback. They would close the gap to five points and the Kodiaks lead 88-82 entering the final minutes of play. However, Lethbridge would hold off Briercrest in a hard-fought fourth quarter and took home a 94-85 win over the Clippers. 

The player of the game award for Briercrest went to #23 Angenay Williams who recorded 28 points along with 8 assists and 4 rebounds. For the Kodiaks it went to #11 Kirsten Barwegen who scored 23 points, along with 13 rebounds and 4 Steals 

After the game, Williams had this to say: "I think we played a really good first half, and a competitive second half, we just got to focus on starting the games with good energy."

MBB | Fri, Feb. 21 - Kodiaks 93 at Briercrest Clippers 74

The teams starting the game trading baskets back and forth and playing strong defence against each other. It was a low scoring first quarter, with the score 12-11 entering the final minutes. The Kodiaks would close the quarter strong on defence and take the lead 21-14 into the second quarter. 

Starting the second, Briercrest got rolling on offence, but the Kodiaks remained strong as well and with the score now at 31-24 the clippers called a timeout. Out of the break, the clippers went on a 6-0 run, but Lethbridge closed the half strong and kept ahead, taking a 38-32 lead into the half.  

Starting the third quarter, the teams went back and forth at the beginning trading three pointers. The Kodiaks played solid defence from there on out and extended their lead to 14, up 54-40 halfway through. The Clippers hit a pair of threes and looked to be coming back, but the Kodiaks would hold them off and took a 64-52 lead into the final quarter. 

In the fourth, Lethbridge pushed their lead to 71-56 in the early minutes of the quarter. The score was at 75-64 with five minutes left and the Clippers began to make a push and were shooting good as they closed the gap to 6, down 79-73. However, the Kodiaks took the momentum back and went on a 10-0 run leading to a Clippers timeout. Lethbridge would hold on and took home a 93-74 win over Briercrest. 

The player of the game award for Briercrest went to #13 Yogi Cheatham who recorded 13 Points, 6 Rebounds and 5 steals. For the Kodiaks, the award went to #7 Brock Dewsbery who had 26 points and 5 assists.

 After the game, Cheatham had this to say; "We played decent today, just the shots weren't falling. We did a good job defensively, hopefully tomorrow we can turn it around and just keep the same game plan going". 

MBB | Sat, Feb. 22 - Kodiaks 83 at Briercrest Clippers 63 

Starting the game, the teams went back and forth in a relatively low scoring first quarter. There was solid defence at both ends, and the Kodiaks has a slight edge and led after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kodiaks lead by 6, up 26-20 in the early minutes. Solid defence on both ends, Lethbridge extended their lead to 10 up 32-22 with five minutes to go in the half. Briercrest closed the quarter strong but still trailed 38-32 heading into the halftime break. 

In the third, strong shooting and defence from the Kodiaks saw them extended their lead to 26 leading 63-37. Briercrest struggled to get going offensively and Lethbridge remained strong and took a 67-40 lead into the final quarter. 

The Clippers chipped away at the lead scoring the first few baskets in the quarter, but the Kodiaks pushed on and continued shooting well from deep and playing good defence. Briercrest couldn't overcome it and the Kodiaks went home with an 83-63 win.

The player of the game award for the Clippers went to #11 Brandon Tolentino who had 21 points along with 11 rebounds. For Lethbridge, the award went to #3 Chase Bohne who recorded 21 points 2 steals and 3 assists.

After the game, Tolentino had this to say; "The second half we turned the ball over a little too much and they shot the ball really well, and that's why they beat us".