EDMONTON – In a battle of two top ten ranked teams, the No. 9 Alberta Pandas force 22 turnovers, including 12 steals, to defeat the No. 2 Vikes 82-71.
After an evenly matched first quarter, Alberta pulled ahead in the second on the strength of 4 steals and some outstanding shooting. The Vikes came back hard in the third, matching the Pandas bucket for bucket, but a 9-3 run by the Panda's to start the fourth ended the Vikes hopes for a comeback.
Alberta went to the line 38 times to Victoria's 22, and three Vikes fouled out in the closing minutes of the game.
Debbie Yeboah paced the UVic offence with 21 points, followed by Kayla Dykstra with 20 and Vanessa Forstbauer with 17. Dykstra also pulled in a team high 7 boards. Alberta's Georgia Popovici lead all scorers with 22 points.
The loss drops the Vikes to 9-2 on the season. UVic will conclude the weekend series against Alberta Saturday at 6pm.
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