Kodiak women cruise in CCAA opener

KODIAK MEN EDGED 86-84

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks women’s basketball team are off to the final four at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship.

The Kodiaks defeated the Douglas Royals 9944 during the opening day’s action Thursday afternoon at NAIT in Edmonton.

Out east in in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the Kodiaks men’s team were relegated to the consolation side following a close 86-84 loss to Quebec’s Nomades de Montmorency Thursday.

In Edmonton, the women’s Kodiaks came blazing out of the gate with 26 points in the first and second half to open up a 52-18 lead at halftime that wasn’t threatened the rest of the way.

Sunder West paced the Kodiaks with 26 points, while Shayna Mathison came off the bench and hit for 15.

Logan Moncks also had 15 points for Lethbridge, Emma Lowry added 11 and Jaclyn Heggie put up 10 in the day-opening win.

Lowry also hauled in 14 rebounds and Mathison had 10.

The Kodiaks will face Quebec’s Nomades de Montmorency today at 6 p.m.

In the men’s game, the Kodiaks battled No. 2 seed Nomades de Montmorency to a 55-55 tie after the third quarter. The Quebec representatives pulled away in the fourth quarter, moving up by as much as 10 points before the Kodiaks once again closed the gap late before falling two points short despite a buzzer-beating three to end the game.

Robert Miles and Grady Taylor each hit for 20 points for the Kodiaks. Chris Maughan and Keanu Funa had 14 and 13 points, respectively, for Lethbridge.

Maughan also had 13 boards and Miles had eight. Miles and Taylor each had four steals as well. The Kodiaks take on the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association’s George Brown Huskies at 10 a.m., local time, in the bronze qualifier.

A video link for the women’s game can be found at

http://ccaa.ca/sports/wbkb/championship/sc hedule/wbb2017,

viewed at

while the men’s game can be

http://ccaa.ca/sports/mbkb/championship/sc hedule/mbb2017.