By the numbers

Tight scores as the women’s basketball team splits the weekend

By Davie Wong, Sports Reporter

As the regular season winds down, most teams try to ramp up their play to prepare for playoffs. For the Royals, they are not exactly ramping the right direction. For the majority of the regular season, the ladies were dominant on the basketball court, at one point amassing a 15-game win streak. But as the tail end of the season approaches, they seem to be struggling.

That trend continued last week as the team took on the visiting Langara Falcons, who were fighting for their playoff lives. They came onto the court on Friday hoping to get an early lead and build some momentum but the Royals gave them a cold reception as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead before surrendering their first points.

However, the Falcons were persistent. They moved quickly to catch up with the Royals and after a couple of unforced errors by the home team, were able to tie the game. But the Douglas squad would have none of that as they quickly found their form once more, finding a way to get out of the first with a 14-10 lead.

The second quarter was much of the same for both teams as the game continued. The only difference was the undisciplined aggression that Langara played with. Their mistakes defending cost them on the board, and at end of the first half the score reflected that, with the Royals up 26-21 going into the break.

Coming out of the halftime break has been a struggle lately for the Royals, and this time was no different. The lacklustre home squad looked as if they were a whole level below the refreshed Langara group. The Falcons punished the Royals for bad mistakes and awkward positioning and finished the third with a 3-point lead.

Nonetheless, in the fourth, the Royals showcased just why they’re one of the best teams. Rallying behind the inspirational play of Nanaya Miki, who sank shot after shot for a total of 20 points, the home team was able to replicate their earlier successes and forced the Falcons into bad positions. The final score was 56-53 for Douglas.

With that game in the books, the team turned its attention to Saturday, where they would be facing off against the Quest Kermodes. With nothing on the line but pride, the Royals naturally wanted to make their last home game of the season their best. Holding that in mind, the team opened the game with a bang, scoring 23 points in the first quarter, while limiting Quest to just 12 points. However, the high-octane offence of the Royals found some difficulty shooting in the second, scoring only 12 to follow up their big opening. Heading into halftime, they had a decent 8-point lead, despite their difficulties in the quarter.

Their difficulties shooting did not dissipate over halftime, much to the dismay of the team. The Royals shot from all over the floor in the second half, but few ever changed the scoreboard. Unlucky bounces and forced shots resulted in a 15 per cent shooting average in the second half. While their defence was solid, there was no offensive production to offset what did get through. As a result, the home team just slowly bled away their lead until they lost, much to the displeasure of the crowd, who groaned as shot after shot rolled off the rim and out. The final score: 55-49

After the game, coach Courtney Gerwing spoke briefly about her team’s loss: “We did the best that we could have defensively, and we were much better than we have been, but we literally shot 15 percent for the entire half.” Despite the loss, Gerwing remained positive about the situation, and seemed to more focus on the coming playoffs. “Hopefully, we’re saving all of our luck for playoffs.”