VICTORIA - In the words of White Spot Vikes player of the game
Carmen Lapthorne, "it wasn't the prettiest win, but we'll take it."
The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball team grinded out a 65-61 comeback win to improve to 12-5 on the season. The Vikes were leading by as much as eight points in a see-saw battle that featured 13 lead changes and eight ties.
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Lapthorne, a fourth-year senior and former Camosun College Charger and Mount Douglas Ram from Victoria, B.C., led the Vikes with 15 points and six rebounds along with two assists and two steals. The Vikes were also aided by 17 offensive boards and 19 second-chance points.
The story was a combination of sloppy half-court play from Lethbridge - they committed 27 turnovers resulting in 25 Vikes points - and hot shooting from Pronghorns star guard Becky Heninger who finished with a game-high 30 points on 12-for-13 shooting from the field and a 5-for-6 effort from the free-throw line.
Until the late stages of the third quarter, Heninger was perfect. She missed with 3:40 remaining on a tough shot with the shot clock winding down on an otherwise flawless performance. Oh, and she played the entire game and added five assists and three steals. She's the reason the now 4-13 Lethbridge squad was even in the contest.
"That point guard (Heninger) is very fast," Lapthorne said. "She can jump very high."
Lapthorne had a balanced game for the Vikes and said her squad needs to be better and more consistent down the stretch.
"We seem to have ebbs and flows," she said. "We need to be more conistent through the whole game."
The Vikes host the same Pronghorns team on Saturday at 5 p.m. at McKinnon Gym with only three games left at home in the regular season (the other two are Feb. 18 and 19 against UBC).
"We were too predictable," said Vikes head coach Brian Cheng. "We're still showing our inexperience."
The Vikes trailed through much of the first half but clawed back to tie the game at 39 at the half. In the third, UVic took the lead for good and toughed it out through a scare in the fourth quarter with Lethbridge pressing late and hitting from outside.
