Savannah Mackay
Blues Crew, Communications
The Capilano Blues ended the regular season on Seniors Night against the Langara Falcons, with Barcha Hnizdilova securing the all-time rebound record, but in a tight battle that could have gone either way, the night ended 58-56 for the Falcons.
Maddy Coffin opened the night with an impressive 3-point jump shot to start the game. The first quarter started rocky, after Coffin’s contribution to the board, with Langara going on a 9-point run. CapU quickly called a timeout to reset, and the Blues found their rhythm with shots by Coffin and Jade De Fondaumiere tying the score 14-14 going into the second.
The start of the second showed CapU was all in, with back-to-back jump shots from the three-point line by Sheleese Hoilett, bringing the score to 21-16. Capilano continued to ride the wave, with Alexa Kusel putting another three to the board. Despite Langara fighting and tying the score at 26-26, Capilano pushed back and finished out ahead 31-28 at the half.
The third quarter was a tight battle for the Blues and the Falcons. The quarter opened with Coffin again, putting five points on the board for CapU. Langara got into a rhythm on the offensive side of the court that found gaps in Capilano’s defense, keeping the pressure on and the score close. But Mia Parkin and Cassiel Penalosa shut it down and finished out the third quarter at 45-42.
The fourth quarter was a scrappy scene as Capilano managed to stay ahead by a margin of a few points for the majority of the quarter, but the visitors did what they had to, with some fouls against Capilano, allowing Langara to take it by a bucket.
Saturday was the final home game for seniors Lauren Tomlinson, Sheelese Hoilett, Sereena Hothi, Alexa Kusel, and Maddy Coffin. Next up is the PACWEST provincial tournament, March 5 to 7, at Camosun College. At 15-9, the Blues are the No. 3 seed and will face Camosun in the quarterfinal.
The Blues also dropped their match against Langara in Vancouver the previous night by a similar score of 58-57.
