LANGLEY, B.C. – It wasn't the dream ending to the 2019-20 season the University of Victoria Vikes hoped for, but at least they know they have one week to sort things out before the playoffs begin.
The Vikes dropped the final game of the regular season to the Trinity Western Spartans 68-64 on the Spartans Senior Athlete Appreciation Night Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The Vikes will host the University of Regina Cougars next week in a one-game Canada West play-in game at the CARSA Performance Gym.
The Spartans trailed by as much as 12 points before rallying in the fourth quarter to cap the season with a win. TWU outscored Victoria 26-13 over the final 10 minutes
With the victory, TWU (6-14) finishes the 2019-20 season with three wins in their final four games. The Vikes, who are playoff-bound, finish the year at 12-8.
TWU's Kianna Wiens had a team-high 18 points, while Jolene Vlieg finished with 16 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Julia Marshall had 14 points.
Nicole Fransson made Spartans history, as she became the first TWU women's basketball player to finish a season averaging a double-double. Fransson finished the year averaging 15.2 points and 10.3 rebounds per game after collecting four points and four rebounds Saturday.
Victoria's Marissa Dheenshaw had a team-high 13 points and nine rebounds, while
Tana Pankratz had 12 points and
Morgan Roskelley had 11 points.
TWU shot 37.1 per cent from the field (23-62) while holding the Vikes to 36.4 per cent (20-55). Victoria had the edge on the glass (47-32) but TWU had just nine turnovers to the Vikes 16.
The Vikes raced out to a quick lead in the first quarter, taking a 17-8 lead after outscoring TWU 11-4 in the final five minutes of the frame.
The home side bounced back in the second quarter, out-scoring Victoria 16-14, to close the Vikes lead to seven points, 31-24, at halftime. Pankratz led the Vikes with 12 points at the break, while TWU put together a balanced offence in the opening 20 minutes, with Vlieg leading the Spartans with five points.
Victoria went back to work early in the second half, putting up 14 points to the Spartans six over the last five minutes of the third quarter to go into the fourth with a nine-point (51-42) lead.
However, the fourth quarter was a different story. TWU outscored Victoria 16-2 over a 4:48 span early in the fourth quarter, with Marshall and Wiens each collecting five points to help the Spartans take a 58-53 lead. Victoria got back within a point, at 60-59, but the Spartans held onto their lead the rest of the way.
