VICTORIA - In a defensive stalemate between two of the nation's top ranked teams, the no. 5 UVic Vikes women's basketball team dealt the no. 2 Saskatchewan Huskies a 58-52 loss.

There were no easy baskets in McKinnon Gym on Saturday night as the Vikes and Huskies slugged it out in a defence-dominated contest. The two sides traded leads al night and neither team led by more than five points, until the final buzzer.

With two minutes remaining, and the game tied for the ninth time, the Vikes scored on two straight trips down the floor and hung on for their first victory of Canada West conference play. #Carmen Lapthorne# hit a decisive jumper, and the third-year forward finished with 11 points.

"We needed better focus on defence and that's what won us the game," said Lapthorne, who was the BC College MVP last year at Camosun. "We had better attention to detail and followed our game plan."

In addition to Lapthorne, the Vikes had three other players realized double digits in a balanced scoring attack. #Debbie Yeboah# made 9-10 free-throws and finished with 11 points, #Kristen Hughes# came off the bench to shoot 4-9 for 10 points, and #Kayla Dykstra# scored 10 of her game high 14 points in the second half.

Dykstra completed the double-double by adding 12 rebounds, and the Vikes posted a 45-34 advantage on the glass.

Saskatchewan received 13 points from Lindsay DeGroot, with the senior guard shooting 5-11 to lead the Huskies. Marci Kiselyk and Jana Spindler also finished with eight apiece.

The loss was the second straight for the Huskies, who suffered a 68-65 overtime loss to UBC on Friday night.

The contest was the last home game of 2009 for the Vikes, who end the first half of the conference slate with four road games. Next weekend UVic will travel to Langley for a weekend doubleheader against the Trinity Western Spartans.