CW Women's Basketball Playoffs set to roll, madness-style

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Brian Swane, special to CW

The 2022 Canada West women’s basketball playoffs get underway this week with 17 teams competing over three days that can best be described as madness – the kind found only in March.

First and second round action is set for Friday and Saturday, followed by Sunday’s quarterfinals which will see a quartet of teams punch their tickets to the Canada West Final Four, set for March 18-20.

So big is the bracket that two gyms are needed to host the action: Jack Simpson Gym at the University of Calgary and Kenyon Court at Mount Royal University. Seeds 10-17 begin play in the first round, seeds 4-9 get started in round two, and the top three seeds join in for the quarterfinals. There is no margin for error, with teams sent packing after one defeat.

The largest ever postseason field in Canada West includes four teams currently ranked in the U Sports Top 10: the Saskatchewan Huskies (No. 2), Winnipeg Wesmen (No. 5), Alberta Pandas (No. 7) and UFV Cascades (No. 8). Saskatchewan is the two-time defending conference champs and captured gold at the most recent U SPORTS Final 8 in 2020.

Here’s a look at each team’s path to the 2022 Canada West Final Four:

1. Saskatchewan (14-2, 1^st East Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: bye

Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (Calgary/Victoria), 1 p.m. MST Sun. at Jack Simpson Gym

2. Alberta (14-2, 1^st Central Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: bye

Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (Brandon/UNBC vs. Regina), 5 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

3. UFV (15-3, 1^st West Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: bye

Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (Mount Royal/Thompson Rivers vs. Winnipeg), 7 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

4. Trinity Western (15-3, 2^nd West Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: ​ vs. TBD (MacEwan/UBCO), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC/Manitoba vs. Lethbridge), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

5. Lethbridge (10-6, 2^nd Central Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: vs. TBD (Manitoba/UBC), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

*Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC Okanagan/MacEwan vs. Trinity Western), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

6. Winnipeg (14-2, 2^nd East Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: vs. TBD (Mount Royal/Thompson Rivers), 7 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

*Quarter-Final: vs. UFV, 7 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

7. Regina (8-8, 3^rd East Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: vs. TBD (Brandon/UNBC), 5 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

*Quarter-Final: vs. Alberta, 5 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

8. Calgary (7-9, 3^rd Central Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: vs. Victoria, 1 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Quarter-Final: vs. Saskatchewan, 1 p.m. MST Sun. at Jack Simpson Gym

9. Victoria (11-7, 3^rd West Division)

First Round: bye

Second Round: vs. Calgary, 1 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Quarter-Final: vs. Saskatchewan, 1 p.m. MST Sun. at Jack Simpson Gym

10. UNBC (8-10, 4^th West Division)

First Round: vs. Brandon, 5 p.m. MST Fri. at Kenyon Court

*Second Round: vs. Regina, 5 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. Alberta, 5 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

11. Mount Royal (5-11, 4^th Central Division)

First Round: vs. Thompson Rivers, 7 p.m. MST Fri. at Kenyon Court

*Second Round: vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. UFV, 7 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

12. Manitoba (4-12, 4^th East Division)

First Round: vs. UBC, 3 p.m. MST Fri. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Second Round: vs. Lethbridge, 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC Okanagan/MacEwan vs. Trinity Western), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

13. UBC Okanagan (7-11, 5^th West Division)

First Round: vs. MacEwan, 1 p.m. MST Fri. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Second Round: ​ vs. Trinity Western, 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

**Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC/Manitoba vs. Lethbridge), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

14. MacEwan (4-12, 5^th Central Division)

First Round: vs. UBC Okanagan, 1 p.m. MST Fri. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Second Round: ​ vs. Trinity Western, 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

**Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC/Manitoba vs. Lethbridge), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

15. UBC (6-12, 6^th West Division)

First Round: vs. Manitoba, 3 p.m. MST Fri. at Jack Simpson Gym

*Second Round: vs. Lethbridge, 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. TBD (UBC Okanagan/MacEwan vs. Trinity Western), 3 p.m. MST Sat. at Jack Simpson Gym

16. Thompson Rivers (1-17, 7^th West Division)

First Round: vs. Mount Royal, 7 p.m. MST Fri. at Kenyon Court

*Second Round: vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. UFV, 7 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

17. Brandon (0-16, 5^th East Division)

First Round: vs. UNBC, 5 p.m. MST Fri. at Kenyon Court

*Second Round: vs. Regina, 5 p.m. MST Sat. at Kenyon Court

**Quarter-Final: vs. Alberta, 5 p.m. MST Sun. at Kenyon Court

You can catch all the action on CWTV presented by Co-op. For complete updates and results, visit the playoff page.