Team Miralax came into the Co-Rec intramural basketball playoffs with one goal in mind: repeat.

The squad, which won its second championship on April 7 after toppling top-seeded Blar, 56-47, used 3-point shooting, fast-break offense, and a rude defense to help claim the Co-Rec title.

The group, which was once composed of mostly pharmacy students, came up with its sports alias three years ago for its Co-Rec football team, wanting the team name to related to a drug that signified its style of play.

The light-footed players decided the laxative Miralax best fit the bill and adopted the slogan, “Team Miralax: We make you run.” And run they did.

In playoffs, the squad blasted through the bracket, winning the each of three games prior to the championship contest by 13 points or more. In its first-round game, Miralax stomped No. 14 seed Hawkeye Flying Club, 70-31.

“We focused on our strengths, which was our big guy down low, Tony Brantner, and our defense,” captain Christina Gaard said. “All of our girls were athletic and had previous basketball experience, so we also knew that they would be a deciding factor in our games.”

The team also used its depth as an advantage throughout the tournament.

Composed of 10 players, the team wore out the opposition by maintaining fresh legs on the court — a factor that also proved to be key in the championship.

“It helped having a bigger rotation, because we like to run the ball, and we could count on everybody contributing positively in some way,” first-year dental student Kristyn Watson said.

In the championship game, the squad went into halftime trailing, and it looked as though Blar would start to pull ahead after Kellen Bubach nailed four 3-pointers and scored 16 of Blar’s 28 first-half points.

But Miralax changed its defense and committed to its style.

“We tried to push the ball up court when we could, and space the court offensively, and look for a good shot,” Brantner said. “We tried to work hard on the defensive end, playing good help defense and doing our best to limit their second-chance points.”

Miralax’s depth and ability to keep its players fresh turned out to be key. With a minute and a half remaining, Brett Dehoogh went 7-for-8 at the free-throw line after Blar resorted to fouling.

Many of Miralax’s core players have played together for three years. But while their comfort level aided them in the regular season, their experience playing in three championship games in the past three years had an effect in the playoffs.

“I felt that having the experience of being in the championship the last two years and winning last year worked to our advantage,” said third-year pharmacy student Andrew Greibrok. “I know that [Blar] had a higher ranking, but I felt we were the better team, and if we played to the best of our abilities, we would win the game.”