KELOWNA, B.C. – For the fourth consecutive season, the UBC Okanagan Heat women's basketball team heads to the Canada West playoffs as they face the Regina Cougars in the conference's play-in round on Friday in Vancouver.
Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. at the War Memorial Gymnasium on UBC's Vancouver campus and the game can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv powered by BioSteel.
The Heat, seeded tenth in the conference after finishing fifth in the Prairie division with a 7-13 record, will be making their fourth playoff appearance in six seasons under head coach
Bobby Mitchell. UBCO posted an even 4-4 record over their final eight games of the regular season, including their record-setting win over the Victoria Vikes to close out their home schedule.
The Heat are 1-2 in their previous three appearances at this stage of the post-season, including their first-ever Canada West playoff victory a year ago against the Trinity Western Spartans.
On the other side of the court, the Cougars enter the playoffs as the seventh seed after finishing fourth in the Prairie division with a 13-7 record. After starting the season with 12 wins in their first 14 games, including an eight-game winning streak in the Fall, Regina struggled down the stretch against the top teams in their division, winning just one of their final six games.
The matchup between the Heat and Cougars promises to be a high-scoring affair as both teams were ranked in the top half of offensive production in the conference this season.
UBCO brings a balanced offensive attack to the matchup as four players averaged eight points or better per contest this season. Leading the way is third-year forward
Lily Pink, who posted a team-high 10.6 points per game followed closely by sharpshooter
Lauren Foullong and rookie guard
Tsuki Tsuzuki at 9.6 points per game.
Fifth-year forward Kesley Falk, who averaged 8.7 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per night, will look to deliver a big performance to open up her final playoff run in the blue and gold.
One player to keep an eye for UBCO will be second-year forward
Tennyson McCarthy. She's averaging nearly eight points per game over her last four contests, well above her average of 5.7, plus her rebounding and defensive abilities will be crucial in battles in the paint.
Meanwhile, the Cougars will rely heavily on their dynamic duo of Jade Belmore and Cara Misskey. Belmore led all Canada West scorers on the season, posting a conference-best 19.4 points per game, while Misskey was tenth in Canada West scoring at 15.0 points per game. Slowing down both players will be key for the Heat in the showdown.
Although the Heat and Cougars didn't meet during the regular season, the two teams played in the preseason at the Nisga'a Clash of the Clans tournament. In a game that came down to the final shot, Regina came away with a narrow 68-66 victory to win the tournament.
The winner of Friday's game will advance to the Canada West quarter-finals where they will face the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds, who won the Pacific division with an 18-2 record.
