The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball squad opened up their 2014 Canada West playoff run with a tough 82-67 road loss against the Regina Cougars, Feb. 21 The Vikes were unable to recover from a second-period surge by the Cougars and fall to 0-1 in the first game of the Canada West quarterfinal series.
 
BOX SCORE
 
Fourth-year Vike Sarah Semeniuk and Jenny Lewis led the scoring for the Vikes with 19 points apiece and were the only two VIkes to enter double digits on the night. Teammate Nicole Karstein put up 10 rebounds in the contest in 19 minutes of floor time.
 
The Cougars received 22 points and six three-point shots off the bench from Janine Guiit, while fellow Cougars Charlotte Kot and Jennilea Coppola both collected double-doubles with 12 ponts, 11 rebounds and 10 points and 10 rebounds, respectively.
 
The VIkes were unable to capitalize on early possesions in the first quarter, as the Cougars opened up with the first 10 points in the game. Despite a push-back to open the second quarter by the Vikes, the Cougars then pulled away with a 16-0 run over a five-minute span in the second quarter.
 
"We started slow and they took advantage," said Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair. "They shot the ball well and had their transition game going. Sarah was tough for us throughout and Jenny and Nicole gave us a great effort in the second half."
 
The U of R took a 46-21 lead into halftime and led by as many as 29 points in the third quarter. Victoria went on a 10-0 run over two minutes late in the fourth quarter, but the closest the visitors came was to within 14 points of the Cougars with just over a minute left on the clock.
 
Katie Polischuk also had 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals for the Cougars while Madi Docherty scored nine and dished out a career-high 11 assists.
  
Victoria was 25-for-73 (34%) from the field in the loss, while the Cougars shot 42% from the field and had a 52-48 advantage in rebounds, surrendering just 13 turnovers, their second-lowest total of the season.
 
"We need to have better shot selection to slow down their transition," said Sinclair. "We need to put this game behind us and come back at it tomorrow."
 
The two teams will meet in Game 2 of the quarterfinal series on Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. It's must-win territory for the Vikes, as a win by the Cougars will send them to the Canada West Final Four in two weeks time. A Victoria victory would force a third and deciding game to be played on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live at www.canadawest.tv 
 
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