Winning the first medal since 1993 was a beautiful thing for the PacWest women's basketball coach of the year Curtis Nelson.
The Douglas Royals earned its first bronze medal in 20 years at the PacWest provincial championships following a 68-41 victory over Kwantlen Polytechnic University on Saturday.
PacWest second team all-star Patti Olson and player of the year Amonda Francis led the Royals with 18 and 15 points, respectively in the bronze-medal final.
All-rookie team selection Adelia Paul chipped in with 10 points.
The Royals never trailed after the opening quarter, leading at halftime 30-15. Douglas continued to pile on the points in the second half, building a 30-point lead at one point in the final frame.
"If we had made it to the finals, we would have gone to the nationals, guaranteed," said Nelson.
"It's been 13 years, since Douglas women's basketball had won a playoff game, and 20, I think, since we won medal. That bronze medal tasted like gold to us."
Nelson wasn't far off his boast.
The third-place finishers during the regular season had the last pos-session in their semifinal loss to Vancouver Island University but couldn't get the equalizer in a 7068 decision to the eventual provincial champs.
"What a shame for this group, who turned this program around, if they came in fourth. We played our best, most entertaining game of the season in the semifinal game, and I think the crowd loved us for it. It was beautiful to watch," Nelson said.
In the semi, Francis had a monster game, pouring in a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds, including seven off the offensive glass. She also had six assists and five steals.
Douglas opened the provincial draw with a 6156 win over host Camosun College in the quarterfinals.
Francis, who led the PacWest in scoring and was second in total rebounds this season, was again the go-to forward, draining 24 points on nine-of-16 shooting and six-of-seven from the charity stripe.
"As fatiqued as we were, our hearts were not fatigued," added Nelson. "The whole goal was to change the culture (of the program) and find the right kids, and this group was really special."
League runner-up VIU defeated regular season champion Capilano 65-55 in the championship final.
