Box Score VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes won the battle in the fourth quarter and brushed back the University of Manitoba Bisons 77-72 on Friday night at the CARSA Performance Centre.
A crucial weekend for both parties, the Vikes (10-7) inched closer to hosting a Canada West play-in game with the decision.
Usually the closer,
Ashlyn Day got going for the Vikes with nine points in the first quarter, all coming from within the paint.
In the second quarter, the Bisons (7-10) implemented a full-court press on defence, which kept Day off the board and limited the Vikes to 11 points in the frame.
The Bisons also got buckets, as Emma Thompson and Taylor Randall took over.
The 5-foot-7 Randall didn't back down from contact, as she found her way to the free throw line a couple of times. She also zipped around the zone to find weak spots in the defence down low. After she started 0-3 from the land beyond, she splashed her first tray to open the second half. She closed with 20 points on 17 shots. She also added three assists.
Along with working were way to the hoop, Thompson stepped outside and popped a pair of threes to get her to 12 points in the first half.
The Bisons went on a 14-2 run in the second half, capped off by an unusual four-point play, when Thompson drilled the three followed by the Vikes committing a loose ball foul. Addison Martin went to the line and went 1-for-2. The rare combination gave the Bisons a 37-30 lead at half.
Shots from deep have been a gold mine for the Vikes this season. They entered this weekend as the top shooting team from deep at 34.2 per cent. The Bisons did a great job of challenging shots on the perimeter and held the Vikes to 1-for-10. The got a couple more triples down the stretch when it mattered, but still finished 4-for-16.
With the third quarter drawing to a close,
Marissa Dheensaw battled for a defensive rebound, drew the foul and knocked down both shots. In the final play, Dheensaw missed a corner three but hunted down her own rebound for the easy layup, which cut the Bison lead down to 56-55.
Thompson caught fire in the fourth quarter from deep with three makes. She kept being the go-to option on offence, as she poured in 11 points in the final 10 minutes to finish with 23.
Day found her touch from the floor and added another nine points to close with 18 and seven rebounds.
Aleah Ashlee also provided a spark for the Vikes off the bench with 10 points.
The Vikes briefly regained the lead in the fourth when
Tana Pankratz spotted Ashlee in the paint, but the Bisons marched down the court and Thompson drained a three from the right wing, her third of the game.
Dheensaw also got it done on the other end, as she shut down a driving Martin with 2:12 remaining. Martin had a fine game, bullying her way to the basket for 13 points and used great body position to yank down a team high eight rebounds.
Sandwiching the Dheensaw denial was
Morgan Roskelley, who was fresh off canning seven threes against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack last weekend. She was 1-for-4 before the fourth and then cashed in on a pair of triples from the same spot on the floor to give the Vikes a 73-69 lead with less than two minutes in regulation.
The Vikes will take on the Bisons tomorrow night (5 p.m. PST) back on Ken and Kathy Shields Court.
