Brent Mutis
CapU sports info

It was a tale of two games for the Capilano Blues to open up the 2023-24 PACWEST schedule but both results were positive in the end as they claimed victories Friday and Saturday over the visiting Langara College Falcons.

While the game came easily to the Blues in Friday's opener in an 83-49 win, Saturday's outing was more of a test and ended up 79-70 in CapU's favour. Maddy Coffin was magnificent in both games but especially in the more competitive Saturday game. The 5-foot-11 third-year forward went for career highs with 24 points and 14 rebounds, leading all players in both categories. 

CapU led by just three at halftime and got a boost from Kirsten Abo in the third quarter as the point guard hit a pair of threes and scored 10 of her 22 on the night. Barcha Hnizdilova recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, the bulk of those coming in the second half.

On Friday, Coffin also packed the stat sheet, finishing one rebound shy of a double-double. A dominant first half in front of a large and noisy crowd put the Blues in command as they led by 25 at halftime. Coffin took over in the second quarter, scoring nine of her 16 points on the night. She added nine boards, three steals, an assist and a career-high five blocks on a highly productive outing.

Sydney Ma led all scorers with 17 points Friday including a buzzer-beating three just before halftime while Hnizdilova picked up eight points and five rebounds in her collegiate debut. Alexa Kusel scored 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench. In all, 10 different Blues found their way onto the scoresheet.

Next up on the PACWEST schedule, the Blues head to Nanaimo to face the defending PACWEST champion Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners. The teams have not played since the provincial gold-medal game in March where VIU took the title on their way to becoming national champions. Game time is 6 p.m. both Thursday, Oct. 26 and Friday, Oct. 27.