UBCO Heat women's basketball team advance to Canada West quarter-finals, after Friday victory over Brandon

Heat to quarter-finals

Photo: Arthur Ward

Kelowna's Kanani Coon paced the Heat with a playoff record 22 points.

The UBCO Heat women's basketball team has lined up a playoff rematch with the Regina Cougars.

UBCO defeated the Brandon Bobcats 86-70 on Friday afternoon in the Canada West play-in round to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

After a tight opening quarter, the Heat used a 12-0 second-quarter run to take control of the game and never looked back on route to their second playoff win in team history.

"We've been playing in pretty important games the last three weeks which really prepped us for a playoff type feel and atmosphere," said Heat head coach Bobby Mitchell after the game. "We were a bit tight at the start but we just talked about sticking to our principles on offence and defence and were really able to settle in from there."

The Heat, ranked fifth in the postseason with a 10-10 record, got 22 points from star forward Kanani Coon. The Kelowna native, who transferred to the Heat from the NCAA last summer, nailed five threes, while snagging seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals on the night.

"She hit big shots for us twice at the end of the shot clock and that's why we got her," said Mitchell. "She can score at all three levels and one of the big reasons we were excited for her to be a part of her group was her ability to make high pressure shots."

Vernon's Sydney Lewis scored a career high 18 points in her first playoff game for the Heat. The redshirt freshman also pulled down nine rebounds and two steals.

"This started two weeks ago against Victoria," said Mitchell of Lewis. "She gained a lot of confidence in that game and it all came together this afternoon. I can't say enough good things about Sydney. She's been really building towards this and it's pretty special to see her come out and do that in a high-pressure situation. You couldn't tell she was a rookie out there."

Kelowna's Lily Pink chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

Next up for the Heat is the 17-3 Regina Cougars, who finished second in the Canada West Prairie division.

"I think it's going to start with dealing with [Jade] Belmore and [Cara] Misskey," Mitchell said. "It won't be an easy task but we have to play our game and play to our strengths. If we can force them into that, then we'll be successful."

Game time is set for 4 p.m. at Regina's home court on Saturday.