WBB | Heat notch historic playoff win

Written by Dan Kinvig for UFV Athletics

ABBOTSFORD — The UBC Okanagan Heat staged a historic breakthrough on Wednesday evening, earning the first Canada West playoff win in program history by a score of 63-57 over the Trinity Western Spartans.

Jaeli Ibbetson led the charge for the No. 9-seeded Heat, racking up 21 points and 16 rebounds — both game-high totals — to send her team to the conference quarter-finals where they’ll face the No. 1 Saskatchewan Huskies (8 p.m., CanadaWest.tv). 

“It’s great,” enthused Heat head coach Bobby Mitchell. “This group has been here (in the playoffs) a couple times, and hasn’t been able to get it done. I’m just so happy for the players. Players win games, and they got it done today.

“We talked about a month ago, about getting to this point playing our best basketball. We really felt like the last three weeks, we’ve been doing that. We just wanted to stay true to how we want to play and not get out of our systems.”

The final game of Wednesday’s opening round of the Canada West playoff tournament, hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley, was contested before a raucous crowd. Trinity Western’s Langley campus may only be 30 kilometres from the UFV Athletic Centre, but a solid segment of UBC Okanagan’s fanbase made the trip from Kelowna, largely nullifying any local advantage for the Spartans.

Point guard Shemaiah Abatayo got No. 8-seeded TWU off to a solid start, scoring five points in the opening frame as the Spartans held a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The run of play began to tilt the Heat’s way in the second, though — Rachel Hettinga poured in five quick points to spark a 7-0 UBCO surge, and they took a 26-22 advantage into the half.

The Heat continued to cook in the third quarter — late in the frame, Sofia Aubsa Lluch found success picking apart the Spartans’ D in the pick-and-roll, frequently finding Kelsey Falk and Ibbetson for shots at the rim. UBCO led 46-35 heading to the final frame.

The Heat stretched the lead to 15 early in the fourth, but Jayden Gill kept her squad in the fight. Given precious little room to drive to the rim, Canada West’s fourth-leading scorer during the regular season stepped out and drained a pair of clutch three-pointers as TWU cut the deficit to 52-45 with five minutes left in regulation.

Ibbetson — like Gill, a CW second team all-star this season — answered with a triple of her own to seemingly restore order, but the Spartans kept coming. 

With just over a minute remaining, Hailey Van Roekel got a steal at half court and went the other way for a layup to cut Heat cushion to 57-52. After Lluch and TWU’s Gracie Corneau exchanged two-point baskets, the Spartans forced a turnover and Lluch was assessed a clear path foul, sending Gill to the line for a pair of free throws, which she calmly swished with 29.5 seconds left.

TWU retained possession, and Gill drove and kicked out a pass to Sydney Bradshaw, who had a wide-open look from beyond the arc to tie it. Her shot was on line but a little too strong, clanging off the back iron. UBCO took it home from there, finishing off the game at the free throw line.

Falk (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Lluch (10 points, four assists) joined Ibbetson among the Heat’s double-digit scorers. UBCO won the rebounding battle decisively, 51-38. 

Gill racked up a team-high 18 points for the Spartans, while Corneau scored 13 points before fouling out late.

Afterward, Mitchell saluted the Heat fans who made the trip. 

“It was awesome to see some of them walk in here,” he said with a smile. “We didn’t know they were going to be here, and it was really nice. The boys over there were really loud, just like they are at home. It wasn’t a home game, but it felt good to see some familiar faces, for sure.”

Gill is one of five Abbotsford products on the TWU roster, along with fellow Robert Bateman Secondary grad Jenna Gill, and Mennonite Educational Institute alums Kailey Reimer, Gracie Corneau and Jazmin Avila. Jayden Gill as one more year of eligibility remaining, but “as of right now” she plans to hang up her high-tops and retire from university hoops. 

“It’s so full circle,” she said, reflecting on having played potentially her last university basketball game in her hometown. “I played in this gym growing up, so it’s cool to have my last game here, and it was nice to have my family here. It was really special, for sure.”