For immediate release

February 22, 2010

Kwantlen Eagles women’s basketball clinches playoff berth

(METRO VANCOUVER, B.C.) The Kwantlen Polytechnic University Eagles women’s basketball team had to win one more game in order to secure their place in the British Columbia Colleges Athletics Association (BCCAA) Provincial Championships this past weekend in Surrey.

The Eagles took on close rivals, the Capilano University Blues in the final weekend of league play. Both the Blues and the Eagles were sitting in the final two playoff spots and were eager for a victory to lock their place. The Blues came out to a great start with a hard fought win on Friday night, topping the Eagles by a score of 68-63.

On Saturday night, with their fate in their own hands, the Eagles came out strong and played a gritty match. Led by double-doubles in points and rebounds for both Chantel Doerksen (Abbotsford) and Shmyla Thandi (Surrey), the Eagles outscored the Blues, inching out a final score of 68-66 in favor of the Eagles.

“The girls earned their way into provincials,” said coach Gary Pawluk. “They competed well and were fortunate to pull it off. We are going into provincials with really good momentum after playing in two such intense games this weekend. It really gave us a taste of what we’ll face next week in Nanaimo.”

Next up for the Eagles will be the Provincial Championships in Nanaimo, March 4-7. In their first match, they will face off with the home team Vancouver Island University Mariners who are ranked number one in the nation.

Kwantlen’s varsity athletics teams are the Kwantlen Eagles. In basketball, soccer, badminton and golf, they compete in national intercollegiate leagues. For more information about the Kwantlen Eagles or view live webcast, visit kwantlen.ca/eagles or follow the Eagles on Twitter: KwantlenEagles

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Read all Kwantlen news and releases here: kwantlen.ca/news


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For more information about this story or the Eagles basketball programs, contact:
Elise Le Brun
Director, Athletics & Recreation
Tel: 604.599.2980
athletics@kwantlen.ca

OR

For more information about Kwantlen, contact:
Peter Chevrier
Director, Marketing & Communications
Tel: 604.599.2286
peter.chevrier@kwantlen.ca