VICTORIA, B.C. – The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball team earned their second-straight pre-season victory over the visiting Guelph Gryphons, 74-69, at McKinnon Gym on Oct. 4. The Vikes who showcased six freshmen in their home opener had a second-half come back thanks to a 23-point game from third-year forward Jenna Bugiardini.
 
Bugiardini lead all scorers on the night and added five rebounds, while freshmen Amira Giannattasio had the crowd on their feet with a debut of 11 points. Six-foot-one Nicole Karstein and Jenna Krug were also impressive adding 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Karstein added a team-high seven boards. Tonight was just a taste of the 2014-15 squad as the Vikes performed well despite the absence of fifth-year forward Jess Renfrew, out temporarily with an injury.
 
A trio of Gryphons found success on Ken and Kathy Shields including Katherine MacTavish, rookie Bridget Atkinson and Barb Inrig-Pieterse. Foul trouble limited MacTavish's minutes but she still finished with 18 points. Atkinson and Inrig-Pieterse helped with 13 and 10 points, respectively. 
 
Guelph paced the home side in the opening quarter as a few quick buckets from MacTavish helped the Gryphons go up 16-10 following the first 10 minutes of play. Six personal fouls from Victoria gave Guelph five points from the line, while the teams remained statistically even elsewhere.
 
In an entertaining second quarter Jenna Bugiardini put up an 11-point performance help the Vikes out-score the Gryphons 19-16. Guelph got into foul trouble putting the Vikes at the line for a few free points, while Bugiardini's impressive tear got the Vikes trailing only 32-29 entering half.
 
In the third quarter the home side got off to a quick 5-0 run including tying the game at 32 on a Krug and-one play. Shaylyn Crisp sliced through the middle of the court and found Karstein whose pause before shot gave the Vikes their first lead of the game at 34-32.
 
The see-saw battle continued as Guelph had field goals from several different contributors despite being out-scored 21-10 in the third. Minimal minutes from MacTavish, who was in early foul trouble, kept the Gryphons off the board, while Krug and Bugiardini started to stretch the home team's lead to 50-42 entering the final quarter. 
 
Turnovers and foul trouble plagued the visitors in the final quarter that saw the Vikes out-score the Gryphons 24-17. Some good free throw shooting helped the Vikes finish the night going 68 per cent from the stripe. Cassandra Goodis and Ashley McGinnis tallied the only three-point shots in the second half to help the Vikes to a final score of 74-59.
 
The Vikes will use the next two weeks to prepare for an East coast tour, Oct. 17-19, where they will visit McMaster, Western and Ryerson for some final pre-season competition before their first Canada West match ups on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 against Regina. 
 
SCORING SUMMARY
GUE: 16-16-10-17  : 59
UVIC: 10-19-21-24  : 74
 
SCORING LEADERS
GUE: Katherine MacTavish (18), Bridget Atkinson (13), Barb Inrig-Pieterse (10)
UVIC: Jenna Bugiardini (23), Nicole Karstein (11), Amira Giannattasio (11)