After losing by three points to the Canadian Mennonite University Blazers last week in the MCAC Championship final, the Pilots women’s basketball team were hungry for another opportunity at a championship. They entered the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NIAC) Championships, held in South Dakota, as the #2 seed.

The Pilots faced Red River College Rebels in the quarter-final and proved to be the stronger team with a 65-36 win. In the semi-final, the Pilots faced hosting team Sisseton Wahpeton College Mustangs. After a hard-fought battle, the Pilots earned another opportunity to play for a championship with a 74-68 win.

Waiting for the Pilots in the NIAC Championship game was the Trinity Bible College Lions, who upset the #1 seed, CMU Blazers, in the semi-final. The Pilots would enter the championship game as the favourites but faced a team full of confidence.

In the final, the Pilots led from the beginning, holding several leads of up to 12 points. However, the Lions never gave up and cut into the lead multiple times, even tying the game midway through the third quarter. Though the Pilots were hard-pressed they kept their cool and were able to win their first NIAC Championship in 12 years by a score of 73-60!

Several Pilots received All-Conference awards. Taylor Goodbrandson, Hannah Van Schie and Katelin Thiessen were named to the NIAC All-Conference team, with Joanne Schwarz receiving an honorable mention. On top of this, Pilots head coach, Joel Coursey, was recognized as the NIAC Coach of the Year.

The Pilots men’s basketball team faced the Red River College Rebels in their quarter-final game, which was a re-match of the MCAC Championship final. The Pilots came out ready to battle and exchanged several leads throughout the game. However, neither team was able to earn a win in regulation, and overtime was needed to decide the winner. In the end, the Rebels proved to be too strong for the Pilots, outlasting them in overtime to earn a 96-85 win.

Several Pilots men’s basketball players were recognized: Jordan Lawson and Kendall Perpall received All-Conference recognition and Cash Blanca received an honorable mention.
The Pilots volleyball teams were in action with their last regular season games of the year. The women’s volleyball team came up just short, losing 1-3, finishing the 2018-19 season with a 5-12 record and finishing in 5th. Unfortunately, it also means that the women’s volleyball team did not qualify for the MCAC Volleyball Championships, hosted at Providence University College, this past weekend.

The men’s volleyball team was hoping to finish their regular season campaign with a win, and they did, but just barely. The Pilots squeezed out a 3-2 victory to finish with an 8-8 win-loss record and earning the #3 seed heading into the MCAC Volleyball Championships.The head-to-head matchup saw Les Rouges win three of the four matchups, with their only loss to the Pilots being their first matchup of the year. The final contest between the two teams was February 8th with Les Rouges winning a 5-set thriller.

Pilots Futsal teams played St. Boniface Les Rouges in their last regular season home games of the year. Women’s futsal lost their 8th straight game 7-2 while the men’s futsal team had a critical 9-4 win to create some separation between themselves and Les Rouges in the standings. Currently in 3rd place with a 4-0-4 record and 12 points, the Pilots now lead Les Rouges who are 3-0-5 with 9 points.