It was a nail biter of a game, but the Kodiaks will be advancing to the gold medal game of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association’s national championships.

The Kodiaks took on the Nomades de Montmorency of Laval Quebec, who were the second ranked team coming into nationals.

John Lowry, assistant coach for the Kodiaks, said he was a little nervous heading into the game, but confident in the team.

“We knew coming in we had three games to win, so just knock them off one at a time,” said Lowry.

The Kodiaks lead the first quarter, finishing off with a 27 to 13 score. Of the 27 points, three players made up 25 of them.

Those three players were Emma Lowry with 7 points, Sunder West with 8, and Logan Moncks leading the pack with 10.

The Kodiaks fought hard to keep that lead up until half time, where they were up 43 to 29.

The Nomades came out of the half with fire under their feet ready to play.

Andrea Torres lead Montmorency with 21 points, followed by Frederique Beauchamp at 14 and Jael Kabunda at 13.

Tied in the fourth with less than 5 minutes to go, Sunder West sunk a three and brought up the Kodiak spirits.

Point for point the Kodiaks edged their way up.

With 20 seconds to go Emma Lowry sunk a free throw, leading the Kodiaks to a four-point victory.

Throughout the entire game, Montmorency fought aggressively to try and secure their spot in the gold medal matchup.

“It was really physical from the start, I mean anyone is going to be really physical going into a semi-final game,” said Shantaya Strebel, a Kodiak basketball players.

The team has plenty of time to rest up, since they don’t play until later today. (Mar. 18)

“Right now we need to focus on getting our bodies ready for tomorrow with proper recovery, and then we’re gonna focus on going one game at a time, just like we have been. Having fun, cuz that’s what gonna get us far,” said Strebel.

The Kodiaks will face off against the Dawson College Blues here at NAIT in the Gold Medal Championship game at 8 p.m.