The Okanagan College Coyotes continue their inaugural season on the court this weekend with both basketball teams taking to the road.
The OC women will be in Nanaimo for two games against the Vancouver Island University Mariners.
The Coyotes men will be in Squamish on Saturday to play Quest, then will head to the Lower Mainland on Sunday to play Simon Fraser.
OC teams are coming off three wins over Langara in four games last weekend on their home courts.
Following a tailgate party to kick off the weekend, Saturday’s games were played at KSS in front of the teams’ biggest crowds of the season.
Coyotes women
The OC women gave the Kelowna audience its money’s worth Saturday with a come-from-behind, nail-biting 51-50 win over the Falcons.
The Coyotes scored eight points in just 18 seconds late in the game to pull out the win.
Megan Admussen-Blair led OC with 17 points, while Danielle Ruocco added 16 points. Navneet Mann, with 10 points, was the Pharmasave player of the game.
“We played with intensity and urgency,” said OC women’s coach Andrew Gini. “It was really nice to see them have success directly related to team play and team hustle. It’s how we are built and how we need to win.”
On Sunday at Immaculata, the Coyotes came out strong and dominated in a 61-39 victory over Langara.
Jenna Bracken paced the attack with 16 points while Ciara Bamford and Jessica Bergman had 11 points each.
Pharmasave player of the game went to Anna Carter with one of her best games of the season.
“It was nice to finally get a complete game and have the ability to play everyone,” said Andrew Gini. “We played with a higher IQ and really had energy on the defensive side for the entire game. I really enjoyed our team play, making that extra pass, and having our compete level there the whole game. It was very rewarding to have a convincing win against a tough team.”
Coyotes men
There was plenty of drama in the men’s game Saturday as the Coyotes prevailed 109-105 over the Falcons in overtime. Pharmasave player of the game Davide Ciancio scored a career-high 39 points in the victory, while Curtis Wilson added 30.
“First of all I want thank all our fans that filled the gym at KSS,” said Coyotes coach Dino Gini. “We were competing with Halloween weekend and it was so awesome to see the great turnout. The games did not disappoint, both the women’s and men’s games were exciting to watch. They were a bit stressful to coach but all in all a great evening with a display of great shooting from both teams and energy from our fans.”
The following day at Immaculata, the Falcons gained some revenge with a 93-83 victory over the Coyotes.
Langara started fast, building up a 21 point lead in the first quarter and led by 16 at the half. OC fought back to tie late in the game, but in the end the Falcons were able to take it by 10.
“Hats off to Langara,” said Gini, “they shot the ball well again and out competed us for half the game. We definitely dug ourselves into a big hole, but I am proud of our guys in the second half to get it back to a tie ball game.”
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