Ken Shields has a long history of making Prince George basketball players better at their game.
The former national team coach devoted four days of court time to the UNBC Northern Timberwolves last week and for Christine Kennedy, the fifth-year UNBC point guard, the tips he gave her helped sink 65-62 Camosun Chargers in a BCCAA quarterfinal playoff Thursday night in Abbotsford.
With UNBC clinging to a two-point lead with less than a minute left, Kennedy shook off a determined check from Anya Weare, ran free into the key and nailed her jumpshot to give her team a four-point cushion. Held to just eight points all game, her clutch zinger gave the T-wolves all the breathing room they needed to continue their playoff run in the semifinal round tonight.
"I was a missing a lot, I think that was the only shot I hit in the second half," said Kennedy. "Ken Shields worked with me for four days on that shot and by the end of the four days I still couldn't get it.
"But finally I hit one, so he'll be proud. It felt amazing coming off my hand, I actually had a good follow-through for one time in my life and I'm so grateful it went down."
As expected, Chelsea McMullen was the Chargers' top scoring threat and finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds. The former Timberwolf, a native of Prince George who was a first team all-star this season in the BCCAA, was at her best in the fourth quarter, rallying fifth-ranked Camosun from a 12-point deficit to give her team the lead 59-58 with 5:10 left.
"Our girls got a little tired and backed off a little and Camosun started coming back, bit by bit," said UNBC interim head coach Rachel Hulme. "We had to pick it up. We focused on [McMullen] and did keep her low on the scoring until the last quarter.
"It was a lot closer than I'd hoped but the outcome remains what I hoped it would be."
McMullen had a chance to tie it in the dying seconds after she drew a foul and was awarded three shots at the line. The first missed, the second swished, and on the third throw she tried to bounce it off the backboard and hope for a trey, but UNBC, the No. 4 seed, grabbed the loose ball and held on.
"They played great, but ultimately, we still had that feeling that we had at provincials last year when they beat us and that probably motivated us," said Kennedy. "There was absolutely no way we were letting that happen again. I could see it in my teammates' eyes that every single one of us knew that wasn't happening and I'm so proud of them."
Sarah Moxley led all UNBC shooters with 14 points and eight rebounds. Erin Beckett and Mercedes VanKoughnett each sunk 12 points. The Twolves led 41-35 at halftime.
UNBC will face the Capilano Blues in a semifinal tonight at 6 p.m. The top-ranked Blues went 16-2 this season. Their only losses came in January in Prince George, where UNBC crushed them by 27 one night and won by nine the following day.
"They came to our house and we beat them twice by a lot, and we feel good about that," said Kennedy. "Provincials is always a different game, but I think we're well-matched with that team and we're going to come out as hard as possible."
The other women's semifinal today at 1 p.m. pits the No. 2 Vancouver Island University Mariners against No. 3 UBC-Okanagan Heat. The Heat beat Langara 90-57 on Thursday. The BCCAA champion will go on to play in the CCAA national championship in Welland, Ont., March 17-19.
Meanwhile, in the men's tournament, No. 3 Capilano defeated No. 6 Camosun 70-52. The second-ranked UNBC men (16-2) will take on the Blues today at 3 p.m. The top-seeded Vancouver Island University Mariners will play the No. 5 Douglas Royals in the other men's semifinal tonight at 8. On Thursday, Douglas defeated No. 4 UNBC-O??????
B.C. has two berths into the men's national championship in Oshawa, Ont., March 17-19, so a senifinal win over Capilano will guarantee UNBC a chance to defend its national title.
