A feud against a transgender competitor that resulted in forfeits and sanctions didn’t stop Columbia Bible College (CBC) from going all the way this year.
CBC won the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball national championship on Saturday night, beating St. Mary’s University 77-70 to win the title for the first time in program history.
For CBC, Elissa Vreugdenhil won CCAA championship tournament MVP, putting up 19 points with 12 rebounds in the win. Grace Park scored 20 points with six rebounds and four assists to claim player of the game honors, while Madeline Beerwald scored 20 points with eight rebounds.
The win is not only the first national championship in CBC history, but also marked a dramatic turnaround from just two years ago, as the program suffered a 54-game losing streak from 2018 to 2023. The program had not even won a conference playoff game prior to this season.
But the team also accomplished all this under the shadow of accusations related to the treatment of a trans athlete. Head coach Taylor Claggett was suspended and the team lost its right to host the conference tournament after allegations of abuse against a trans athlete on Vancouver Island University