The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball team had their pre-season undefeated streak snapped today, Oct. 17, after falling 72-42 to the McMaster Marauders. The rare mid-day contest was part of a special promotion that brought over 1300 elementary school students into the Burridge Gym to see the CIS product up close.

It looked like the visitors were going to spoil the party as Victoria jumped out to a quick 6-0 edge and held the lead for most of the opening minutes.  But trailing by 16-12, McMaster went on a nice run and outscored the Vikes 12-3 to finish the quarter and take a 24-19 advantage after 10 minutes.

The Marauders opened the second quarter on an 11-2 run and suddenly Victoria was looking at a double digit deficit at 35-21 and needed a timeout.  The Vikes continued to struggle offensively, while McMaster had its own issues with fouls and turnovers.  By halftime, the McMaster lead was 39-25. The Marauders made a toasty 63% of their shots in the first-half, while Victoria shot a frosty 35% from the floor.

A strong start to the third quarter saw the Maroon advantage get up to as much as 20 at 45-25, before Victoria made a run of its own to narrow the gap to 47-34.  McMaster responded though and at the end of the third, the Marauder lead was 58-35.

The final stanza was much of the same for both teams with McMaster pushing its transition game and Victoria unable to find any offensive rhythm.  With both teams going into their substitutes, McMaster was able to hold the Vikes to seven points while scoring 14 for the final 30-point margin.

The top shooter for McMaster was Danielle Boiago with 16, while rookie Ally Schweitzer had her first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Clare Kenny also chipped in with 10 points, while Linnaea Harper and Hilary Hanaka each had nine points.  Victoria was led by Hamilton native Jenna Bugiardini, who scored 10.

For the game McMaster had a solid shooting percentage of 53%, while Victoria never found its collective shooting stroke, only making 27% of its shots.  McMaster won the battle of the boards by 42-27.

Up next the Vikes will visit the Western Mustangs in London, Ont. at 11 a.m. Pacific Time.