VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball team showed why they entered this weekend ranked No. 8 in the CIS, as the home team powered their way to a 72-59 victory over the Trinity Western Spartans on Nov. 17, at McKinnon Gymnasium.
 
BOX SCORE  /  FULL SCHEDULE
 
The offensive duo of Debbie Yeboah (Winnipeg, MB) and Cassandra Goodis (Penticton, BC) continued their scoring ways tallying 23 and 14 points, respectively. Jessica Renfrew (Victoria, BC) netted 13 points, while adding seven rebounds.
 
“We had a lot of good moments but we had an opportunity to take control of the game and took moments to rest,” said Vikes associate coach Dani Sinclair. “We still need to be more consistent and execute in both ends. Debbie and Cassandra are tough to guard and did well to score in the first half to help free up others in the second.”
 
Pacing the Spartans was forward Holly Strom (Calgary), whose two-way consistency put her at the top of the scoring table once again with 31 points and 13 boards.
 
Rebounding from last night's slow start, fifth-year Yeboah stormed the court with an early 10-point run that lifted the Vikes to a 16-point lead through the first quarter. The Spartans conceded seven turnovers in the opening minutes but fourth-year Strom scored 10 points to shave the Vikes' lead to 22-14 entering the second.
 
Goodis took the reigns in the second quarter, picking up eight points and two assists. The Spartans' bench played catch up as Chantelle Martin (Surrey, B.C.) capitalized on two Vikes lapses to tally four points, while Strom continued to run the floor with six second-quarter points, four of which came from the line.
 
The Spartans came alive in the third quarter, out-scoring the Vikes 21-18 thanks to 11 points from Strom and five each from Janelle Traber (Abbotsford, B.C.) and Martin.
 
Four Vikes shot double digits to help the Vikes to the 72-59 win but the team impressed further going 87 per cent from the free throw line.
 
With the back-to-back victories, the Vikes women improve to a 4-2 record in the Canada West, while the Spartans drop to 0-6. The Vikes will head on the road next weekend, Nov. 23-24, to face Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Spartans will host Winnipeg and Manitoba next weekend, hunting for their first win. All games will be broadcast live at http://canadawes.tv
 
SCORING BY QUARTER
UVIC: 22-20-18-12 : 72
TWU: 14-14-21-10 : 59
 
SCORING LEADERS:
UVIC: Debbie Yeboah (23), Cassandra Goodis (14), Jessica Renfrew (13)
TWU: Holly Strom (31), Chantelle Martin (11), Laurissa Weigl (6)