Both women’s and men’s basketball teams competed in the MCAC Basketball Championships over the weekend, winning their semi-final games but coming up just short in their championship games.

The women’s team played Red River College on Friday in the MCAC semi-final. Red River challenged the Pilots to the very end but were not able to overcome a strong team performance, led by Hannah Van Schie and Alison Zajac. The final score was 61-53 for the Pilots.

The MCAC final had the Pilots matched up with #1 seed Canadian Mennonite University Blazers, who came in with a record of 13-1. Their only loss was to the Pilots a few weeks earlier. The Pilots came out strong and led for the entire game, until the last 1:30 min of the 4th quarter. With just over two minutes remaining, the Pilots held a 7-point lead and seemed destined for their first MCAC Championship win in over 10 years. Alas, CMU showed why they were the #1 seed and made a strong push to get a 3-point lead with just over a minute remaining. The Pilots lost the close game 54-51.

Meanwhile, the men’s basketball team also faced off against CMU in their MCAC semi-final. The highlight for the Pilots was a fourth quarter 11-0 scoring run that saw them take a lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 94-86.

In the MCAC final, the Pilots faced 9-time reigning MCAC champions Red River College Rebels. Although the score was always close, the Pilots were never able to cut the Rebels’ lead by more than 3-points and struggled to gain an upper hand. In the end, the Rebels won their 10th MCAC title in as many years by a score of 76-68. Top performers for the Pilots were Kendall Perpall with 19 points and Jordan Lawson with 14.

In another recent game, the women’s volleyball team needed a beat St. Boniface University to keep their hopes alive for qualifying for the MCAC Championships. They did just that. With a strong performance the Pilots defeated St. Boniface 3-1.

The men’s volleyball team hoped to defeat USB in what was a preview of the upcoming MCAC semi-final. In a tough 5-set battle, the Pilots came up just short losing 2-3.

With this being the last regular season home games for the volleyball teams, the Pilots recognized their graduating seniors. The women’s team honored Danella Alvaro and Sara Barker. The men’s team honored seniors Brett Foley and Matt Friesen.

In Futsal action, Pilots faced off against Red River College Rebels. Although their play continues to improve every week, the women’s team continued in their struggles to win, losing 8-2. Goal scorers were Lindsey Dueck and Sofia Beltrame.

The men’s futsal team had a great performance by Braeden Owen, leading the team with 4 goals and a 6-3 win over a tough opponent in USB. With the win, the Pilots solidified their spot in the playoffs and look to continue a strong run into the last stretch of the regular season.