From 38-0 to Hall of Fame Kodiaks 2016-17 women’s basketball team honoured

It was a dream season three years in the making for the 2016-17 Lethbridge College Kodiaks women's basketball team.

Kodiaks went undefeated with a 21-0 regular season record in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). But that was just the start. The Kodiaks captured the ACAC championship on their home court at the Val Matteotti Gym, then claimed the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association national title the following week.

It was the second ACAC title in three years for the Kodiaks, who amassed a 73-3 record over that span, to go along with the national title.

That impressive run has resulted in the Kodiaks earning a prestigious place in the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame with the induction ceremony set for May 8.

"Having this team recognized is really great," said Kodiaks' head coach Brad Karren, who capped off his post-secondary coaching career that season with the titles. "It's a pretty big deal for these kids; they worked really hard for a few years."

"This team was really close, and we preached that if you want to win, even if you've got the best players in the country you're not going to win if you're not a complete group," added Karren. "They had each other's back, and they knew their roles and what they had to do. The key is having players who want to win and not necessarily want to be stars."

At the ACAC championship, Kodiaks opened with a lopsided victory over the Lakeland Rustlers before defeating SAIT Trojans 66-50 in the semifinal. There was no stopping the Kodiaks as they cruised to an 85-54 victory over the St. Mary's Lightning in the final in front of a capacity home crowd for their 13^th ACAC championship in program history.

The winning continued the following week at the CCAA nationals at NAIT in Edmonton. Seeded third, the Kodiaks rolled over B.C. representative Douglas College 99-44 before coming up against their toughest opponent of the season in the semifinal in Nomades de Montmorency from Quebec. Kodiaks built a 19-point second-quarter lead only to have Montmorency battle back to tie the score 70-70 with two minutes remaining. Kodiaks responded with a pair of baskets to win 74-70 to advance to the championship game against Montreal's Dawson College Lady Blues.

After a slow start in the final, Kodiaks got on track and downed Dawson 81-57 for their fourth national title in program history. The previous titles came in 1989, 1990 and 2004.

"I remember at halftime of the CCAA championship game and our athletic director and our college president were in the dressing room and I thought, 'oh boy, I have to come up with a halftime talk with them in the room listening,'" said Karren. "I said you've got 20 minutes to win a national championship. We were up by about 15 points and I said we're going to have to play harder than the first half because they're going to adjust and we've got to adjust as well. One of the girls, I can't remember who, said 'it's OK coach, we've been working on this for three years.'"

Overall, the Kodiaks posted an amazing 38-0 record during the 2016-17 season which included tournament victories in the U.S. against Division II and junior college programs.

"Our goal was not necessarily to go undefeated, but to win every game we thought we should win," said Karren. "Our focus was to get to the playoffs and the national championship. We really thought we should be in every game. They just believed they were going to win and they did what it took to do it."

Karren was named ACAC and CCAA coach of the year while Sunder West was named an ACAC first-team all-star, ACAC championship most valuable player, CCAA championship MVP and CCAA tournament first-team all-star.

Teammate Logan Moncks was named ACAC regular season MVP and CCAA tournament first-team all-star while Emma Lowry was named a first-team all-star in the ACAC regular season, ACAC championship and CCAA championship.

Rounding out the Kodiaks' roster were assistant coaches Deanna Simpson, John Lowry and Ali Cameron and players Jaclyn Heggie, Leah Ekubazgi, Amanda Lee, Shantaya Strebel, Jinan Daqqa, Rebecca Lowry, Shayna Mathison, Brianne Hergott, Amy Arbon and Vienna Tamminen.

The Kodiaks will be inducted into the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame in the team category at the Hall's 40^th induction ceremony and banquet on May 8 in the Lakeview Salon at Excite Lethbridge Exhibition and Trade Centre.