The UNBC Northern Timberwolves weren't prepared for the crash and bash style of game the Capilano University Blues threw at them.
In a B.C. Colleges Athletic Association women's basketball playoff semifinal Friday night in Abbotsford, the top-seeded Blues muscled past the fourth-ranked Timberwolves 74-58.
"We kind of let them walk through our defence," said Rachel Hulme, interim head coach of the Timberwolves. "They played a really physical game. They came out strong and they started hitting some shots and that kind of got the girls down. We tried to fight back and did a really good job."
The T-wolves will now face the Vancouver Island University Mariners for bronze today and the Blues will clash with the UBC Okanagan Heat for gold.
The Blues had a bye to the semifinal round, while the Timberwolves scrapped their way past the Camosun College Chargers 65-62 in a Thursday quarterfinal contest.
Capilano was rested and ready for the encounter with UNBC and got out to an early lead. The T-wolves were forced to play from behind all night and never could find their way out of the hole. They got within 12 points of the Blues in the fourth quarter but a comeback wasn't in the cards. Jessica Franz, the BCCAA scoring leader during the regular season, hit a game-high 24 points for the Blues. Capilano got secondary scoring from Jennifer Bodnar (19 points) and Jenna Ralston (13 points).
Christine Kennedy led UNBC with 17 points and Erin Beckett hit for 12. For the game, UNBC was just 31 per cent effective from the field.
When the Timberwolves and Blues met at the Northern Sport Centre Jan. 21-22, UNBC won both games, 99-72 and 83-74.
"[The Blues] played a little bit better defence than they did when they were up [in Prince George]," Hulme said. "They had the rest, because they didn't play on Thursday, and they came out on fire. And they came out after half and hit a lot of threes and just pulled ahead."
The T-wolves are now focused on beating the Mariners for bronze today. VIU, seeded second, was upset by third-ranked UBC-O 61-57 in Friday's other semifinal.
The Timberwolves and Mariners split their regular-season games, Nov. 19-20 at the NSC. UNBC won 65-58 and then lost 62-41.
Today's game will cap the careers of Kennedy and Sarah Moxley, who are in their final years of eligibility.
