Win streak ended with loss to rivals
By Ayanda Gatsha, Columnist
On Friday evening, the Royals women’s basketball team took on the visiting Camosun Chargers. Douglas came on strong to start the game, resulting in a commanding lead early on. Offence dictated the first quarter of action as the Royals scored 27 points in the first quarter while surrendering 19 to the Chargers.
It was back to business for both teams in the second as the pace of the game slowed dramatically. Douglas’ stalwart defence made their re-appearance and the team kept Camosun to only 9 points, giving the Royals the lead heading into halftime, 41-28.
The halftime break was not kind for the Royals, who looked like they were ready to run away with the game. The Chargers came out of the half looking refreshed, and they pushed the Royals much harder than they did in the first half. The Douglas team struggled to match their intensity but despite that, they ended the quarter up 60-45.
The last quarter was bad for the home team, as Camosun turned the pressure on by going on a 15-5 streak, closing the lead to just 5 points. Coach Courtney Gerwing used one of her timeouts to settle the team and refocus. The tactic worked magically, as the Royals came surging back, limiting the Chargers to just 5 points while scoring 14 of their own to close the game out, 79-65.
Saturday’s game against Vancouver Island University started out tighter than the previous, despite the Royals looking marvelous offensively. But by the time the half ended, it was the Royals with a safe 32-26 lead.
Once again, the break was not kind to the Royals, and they came out looking noticeably slower.
As the last phase of the game began the game had drawn to a thrilling 46-46 draw. A re- invigorated VIU squad resulted in an end score of 66-55 for the visitors.
While this game could hardly be classified as an upset, it didn’t stop it from feeling like one. After the game, coach Gerwing spoke regarding her team’s loss. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the second half. We went cold for too long. Our shooting percentage in the second half was 17 and that’s not how you win a game. We’ll probably continue to work on some fundamental defence, but I’d rather play like we did now, than during playoffs.”
