VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes played their second game in a row against the Mount Royal Cougars, Jan. 25, posting another decisive 76-51 victory to move to 11-5 in their Canada West season. The Vikes jumped out to an early lead and did not look back, handing the Cougars their 15^th loss of the season at McKinnon Gymnasium.
 
BOX SCORE
 
Jenna Bugiardini led the Vikes in scoring on the night, putting up 20 points through 25 minutes of play. Teammate Jessica Renfrew finished second with 17 points and five rebounds, while Emily Jentsch came off the bench to add nine points and six rebounds in the victory.
 
Missing key starter Jordan Maclean, who led her team in scoring the previous night despite playing just over 10 minutes, the Cougars struggled to put up points all night long. Candice Duckett came off the bench to lead her squad with 13 points in 17 minutes of action, while teammates Danica Rybachuk and Alicia Tan rounded out the top-3 scorers for the Cougars with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Vikes set the tone early in the first quarter, exchanging layups early before capitalizing on several Cougar turnovers and going on a 13-point lead. Renfrew made her presence felt immediately, scoring 13 points in the first quarter alone. The Vikes led 21-8 after the opening frame, scoring 16 of those points in the paint.
 
The Vikes continued to roll into the second quarter, going on an 11-point run to open up the frame. The Cougars offence struggled to finish and were unable to drain a basket  in the opening five minutes of play in the second. They would finally snap the scoreless drought, draining a three-pointer to make it a 32-11 score. Cougar turnovers continued to haunt the visiting team as the Vikes would go on another eight point run to close out the frame, leading 43-21 at the half.
 
The Cougars offence managed to get on the board in the third, making their biggest push of the night with an 11 point run highlighted by long three-pointer by Tan. After putting up 26 points through the opening two quarters of play, the Cougars put up 23 points in the third. Despite their offensive surge, the Vikes managed to put up 25 points of their own to lead 68-44 heading into the final frame of play.
 
Neither teams could convert on offence to open up the fourth, with the first points of the quarter coming just over four minutes into play off a fast-break from Bugiardini. With the lead, Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair was able to utilize her bench that finished with 27 points on the night.
 
With the victory, the Vikes move to 11-5 on their season, while the Cougars drop to 1-15. The Vikes will head out on the road to face Calgary and Lethbridge, Jan. 31-Feb.1. Both games will be broadcast on www.canadawest.tv.