The UBC Okanagan (UBCO) Heat women鈥檚 basketball team is finished for the season after a Canada West quarter-final loss on Thursday night (Feb. 22).

They fell 74-60 to the top-seeded Saskatchewan Huskies at the UFV Athletics Centre.

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A pair of runs to close the opening two quarters by Saskatchewan, 7-0 in the first and 10-0 in the second, proved to be the difference as the tournament favourites advanced to the conference semifinals.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 give you a whole lot of room, and they contest every defensive possession,鈥� said Bobby Mitchel, Heat head coach. 鈥淚 thought they sped us up and got us out of rhythm early, but I liked our compete.鈥�

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Despite the loss, the season marks the best for UBCO in program history since joining the Canada West conference in 2011.

The team set new program records for most wins in a season and most points in a single game, while also picking up their first-ever playoff victory against the Trinity Western Spartans.

鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of the group, and we鈥檒l look back and be proud of this season. It鈥檚 tough right now, but it was a great season,鈥� Mitchell added.

Game highlights:

• Fourth-year forward Jaeli Ibbetson of 琉璃神社 was a force once again for the Heat, playing over 37 minutes, and finished with another double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds, to go along with four assists.
• Fifth-year guard Sofia Ainsa Lluch of Mahon, Spain, also finished in double figures in scoring as she had 14 points while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out five assists.
• Fellow fifth-year guard Rachel Hettinga of 琉璃神社, B.C., finished the night a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor to post nine points in her final outing with UBCO.

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