To wrap-up the 2022-23 Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) women’s basketball season, the #1 seed Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers completed another undefeated season finishing with a fifth consecutive MCAC Championship title in front of a packed Loewen Athletic Centre in Winnipeg. Fourth year guard Anna Pyne was selected as Player of the Game for the Championship Final.
The host CMU (8-0 in regular season; 1-0 in playoffs) defeated the #2 seed Providence University College (PUC) Pilots by a 73-48 score on Sunday, February 12, 2023 in the Championship Final.
With the victory, the Blazers extend their championship dynasty run as they have now won the last five MCAC championships (2018-23) and since 1999-2000, eighth overall (2006-07, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22, 2022-23).
CMU’s Pyne had a game-high 18 points and been part of four winning championship teams and stated after the historic win, “This is a huge accomplishment as we have been great on and off the court with our chemistry and team bonding. We know PUC is a great and so we are. It is special because we have a rivalry with them and competed with the best and came up on top.”
Blazers head coach Joe Di Curzio commented on the completion of a championship run and Anna’s performance, ““It is a blessing to have won five in a row with all the players and assistant coaches who helped along the way. Anna played a great game in the championship final.”
This also capped an outstanding season for the Winnipeg native. Pyne was also named as 2022-23 MCAC Women’s Basketball co-Player of the Year and earned All Conference award recognition.
A winning way to end his career. Fourth year guard/forward Joshua Armstrong earned Player of the Game for the Championship Final as the #1 seed Providence University College (PUC) Pilots defended their title and finished off an undefeated season with a second consecutive Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Men’s Basketball Championship title in front of a loud, packed Loewen Athletic Centre in Winnipeg.
The Pilots earned a thrilling 66-62 comeback victory over #2 seed Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers on Sunday, February 12, 2023 in the Championship Final.
With the victory, Providence captures the men’s basketball conference championship title for a fifth time (2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2021-22, 2022-23).
PUC’s Armstrong registered a game-high 20 points as he made several crucial plays in the final minutes of the contest and has been part of past two winning championship teams. “It feels so good to win back-to-back. We capitalized on our regular season and worked hard. We were disciplined on defence at the end and feels amazing to end my last game in MCAC with a championship and Player of the Game.”
During the regular season, the Pilots went 8-0 regular season and Pierre Dubreuil, PUC’s head coach, stated, “This is a blessing to be undefeated in MCAC this year. Joshua loves basketball and battled injuries for a lot of this season. He stepped up his performance during tight games and in this championship.”
This also completed an award winning season for the Mississauga, ON native as he was also named as 2022-23 MCAC Men’s Basketball All Conference and selected as back-to-back Athlete of the Week recognition this year.
Source: http://www.mcacathletics.ca