Renfrew will be counted on heavily in the second half with #Kayla Dykstra# out for the season with a knee injury.

With the win, the No. 4 nationally ranked Vikes improve to 10-3. #Vanessa Forstbauer# of Chilliwack, B.C., added 10 rebounds, while #Debbie Yeboah# of Winnipeg was also effective with six rebounds and 10 points. #Sarah Semeniuk# added 10 points.

"We're definitely smaller and we have less of a height advantage, but the vets are really stepping it up. We're doing the best we can and working well as a team," Renfrew said. "We're a family unit here and everyone has to step up and take on new roles."

Tiffany Olsen of Fanny Bay, B.C., led the Spartans (1-14) with 22 points, six rebounds and two assists.

“Life without Kayla is not too much different, we're just playing the same style with different people,” said Vikes head coach Brian Cheng. “I'd be lying to say we're not missing her scoring or rebounding, but if we hit free-throws tonight we would have scored over 80 points.”

The Vikes women opened up a 20-8 lead after the first quarter, with seven second-chance points off offensive rebounds and capitalizing on sloppy Trinity Western play, with seven first-quarter turnovers alone.

The Spartans stayed close, with the Vikes taking low-percentage shots and struggling on the offensive glass. Trinity Western outrebounded Victoria 20-13 in the opening half, and the Spartans put together an 8-0 run to end the half and cut the lead to one, with the Vikes leading 31-30.

Renfrew drained a three-pointer to start the third quarter for the Vikes, then started an 11-2 run midway through the third quarter to help the Vikes to restore a comfortable lead.

But Olsen continued to make things difficult for the Vikes with effective play inside.

The Vikes showed improved defensive play in the second half and held the Spartans to just 27 second-half points to hold on for the win, never trailing in the game.

"It is what it is," Cheng said. "It's still a work in progress."

The teams meet up again on Saturday Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. at McKinnon Gym.

"We'll have to come out hard again against them. Any team can beat any team on another night so we have to come in refreshed," Renfrew said.

WHITE SPOT PLAYER OF THE GAME:

Jessica Renfrew, Forward, Victoria, B.C. (Claremont Secondary School) 25 pts, 1 reb.

NOTE: The University of Victoria Department of Athletics and Recreation will honour the 2010 Vikes men's rugby team for winning the Rounsefell Cup, the B.C. Premier Rugby Union championship in a special half-time ceremony at the Jan. 8 men's basketball game versus the Trinity Western Spartans at McKinnon Gym. Last May, the Vikes won the cup with a 31-27 win over Meraloma at Wallace Field.