The playoffs await the UBCO women’s basketball team, while the Rockets continue their homestand and the Warriors engage in a home-and-home weekend.
UBCO Heat
For the second time in as many seasons, the UBCO Heat women’s basketball team is in the Canada West playoffs, which start tonight in Saskatchewan.
In the single-game elimination tournament, the Heat take on their sister school, the UBC Thunderbirds in their opening match-up.
The Heat finished the regular season 10-10 while the Thunderbirds finished 11-9. However, the Heat finished 3-2 down the stretch to make it to the playoffs while UBC stumbled into the playoffs, finishing the season on a 2-6 stretch.
In the second last weekend of the regular season (Jan. 26 and 27), the team split the two-game weekend series.
The Heat had three players finish the season averaging double-digit points every night, including Kelowna’s Jaeli Ibbetson, who averaged 16.1 points per game. She finished the season with 322 points, setting a new team record for most points in a season.
As a team, they averaged 70.8 points per game this season and have a UBC team that’s strong defensively as they allowed just 59.5 points per game on average.
Going into the play-in game, UBCO could be without their leading scorer Olivia Weeks, who missed the last few games of the regular season with an injury.
In the winner goes-home game, tip-off is at 4 p.m. Pacific time, at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon, Sask. The game is available on the Canada West website or Telus TV, channel 1997.
Kelowna Rockets
The Kelowna Rockets continue their homestand in a bit of a different fashion this weekend.
Instead of playing on back-to-back nights like usual, the Rockets welcome the Portland Winterhawks to town on Saturday night (Feb. 18) and then the Tri-City Americans for an afternoon affair on Family Day, Monday afternoon (Feb. 20).
On Wednesday night, they got back in the win column as Andrew Cristall scored four times in his return to the lineup in a 5-2 win for the Rockets over Everett.
Going into the weekend, the Rockets hold onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the WHL’s Western Conference with a record of 18-30-3-0. Portland has already clinched a playoff spot as they sit third in the West (36-12-2-2). Tri-City is fifth in the West with a record of 25-20-4-1 but has only registered one of a possible 10 points in their last five games.
Saturday night’s puck drop is at 7:05 p.m. while Monday’s Family Day puck drop is at 2:05 p.m.
West Kelowna Warriors
The West Kelowna Warriors finish their seven-game road trip on Friday night when they take on the Penticton Vees.
Penticton (36-3-0-1) has already punched its ticket to the playoffs as they sit first in the Interior Conference and the entire BCHL. The Warriors go into the weekend third in the Interior with a 22-15-4-0 record with 13 games to go in the regular season.
Puck drop on Friday night at the South Okanagan Events Centre is at 7 p.m.
Then after seven consecutive road games, the Warriors play their first home game in 25 days on Saturday night (Feb. 18) as they welcome the Trail Smoke Eaters to town. Trail is eighth in the Interior as they are 16-20-2-3. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. at Royal LePage Place.
Much like the Rockets, the Warriors also play at home on Monday afternoon to celebrate Family Day. They welcome the Interior’s last-place team, the Merritt Centennials (11-25-2-3) to town. Monday’s puck drop is at 2:30 p.m.
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