The Columbia Bible College Bearcats women’s basketball team’s season ended prematurely last weekend.
But it’s not due to an opposing team in the Pacwest, it’s because after the holiday break the club failed to have enough bodies to fill out a roster.
The Bearcats entered the 2018-19 Pacwest regular season with just seven players, and over the break one of those players became academically ineligible and another was unable to come back due to personal reasons. The Bearcats had also been potentially adding two other players, but both those possibilities didn’t work out
CBC athletic director Mike Teeter said the program was left with little choice but to wrap up the season early.
“It just wasn’t feasible for us to continue to play our games with just five players,” he said. “Even when we had seven, trying to play at the collegiate level with that amount wasn’t that realistic - we weren’t faring overly well in our games this season. But we didn’t have much of a choice, we just didn’t have the players to continue.”
The Bearcats lost all six games they played this season, and were last outscored 91-27 by the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Nov. 17. The team was outscored 459-262 in those six contests.
Despite concluding this season early, Teeter said the team will return for the 2019-20 regular season.
“As far as the women’s program is concerned we are planning on continuing with the program going forward and rebuilding starting next season,” he said.
Head coach Angela Booy will not be a part of the rebuilding, as the school announced it is on the look for a new coach to run the program.
“Angela had already indicated to us that this year was going to be her last year so all this just sped up that process,” Teeter said. “She’s been great over a number of years for us as head coach, but we’re looking to rebuild the roster and program and be prepared for the fall.”
Booy helped lead the team to its first-ever playoff berth last season and also finished with the club’s best record at 5-13. She was named the 2017-18 Pacwest women’s basketball coach of the year for her efforts.
Meanwhile, the Bearcats men’s team posted losses on Friday and Saturday to the Mariners. The team sits in seventh place in the Pacwest, and is winless after eight games.
The club travels to Kelowna to take on the Okanagan College Coyotes for games on Friday and Saturday. For more on the team, visit facebook.com/BearcatAthletics.