Kamloops, B.C. -  A dominant, 20-point victory Friday night and a come-from-behind, hard-fought Saturday win was how the University of Victoria women's basketball team defeated Thompson Rivers University on the road, Jan. 28-29, at the Tournament Capital Centre.
 
Game one: Victoria 71, Thompson Rivers 51
January 28, 2022
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – UVic 17, TRU 13

• Ashlyn Day set the pace right out of the gates, nailing a three-pointer on the first possession of the game for the 3-0 Vikes lead.
• Calli McMillan would drain back-to-back threes to put UVic ahead, 11-8.
• Continuing to make it rain three's, Day would knock down the Vikes' fourth three in the first five minutes of play for the 14-8 lead.
• UVic would finish the first quarter with a 17-13 lead, shooting 50% from behind the arc (5-for-10).

2nd Quarter – UVic 34, TRU 28

• TRU opened the second quarter on a 6-2 run, tying the game, 19-19, with just under eight minutes to play.
• Staying with striking distance of the WolfPack, Day would push the Vikes ahead with three-straight three's, 30-24.
• UVic would hold its six-point lead for the final four minutes of the half, taking a 34-28 lead into halftime.          

3rd Quarter – UVic 58, TRU 46

• Keeping themselves distanced from Thompson Rivers, Tana Pankratz gave the Vikes its largest lead of the game at that point, eight, 49-41, with just under four minutes to play in the third.
• A 9-2 run for the Vikes closed the third quarter with a 12-point lead for visiting side.

4th Quarter – UVic 71, TRU 51

• Eight-straight points from Meike Boerstra, Abigail Becker, Mimi Sigue, and Karsen Look would give the Vikes its first 20-point lead of the night, 66-46, with five minutes to play.
• A bucket from Nicole Torozan would give UVic its largest lead of the game, 22, 70-48,  with just under three minutes to play.
• Remaining in the driver's seat until the end, the Vikes opened their two-game series against the WolfPack with a 71-51 win.

WORTH NOTING

• The 20-point win marked the second-largest margin of victory for the Vikes this season and second 20+ point win. UVic defeated UNBC by 25, 84-59, Dec. 3.
• Day had her fifth 20+ point contest, finishing with a team-high 21 points. Her five made three's tie for third-most by a Canada West player this season. In addition, the Kelowna, B.C. native added three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block in her 27 minutes of play.
• Finishing with a season-high seven assists, McMillan added 13 points and two steals while surrendering no personal fouls in her time on the court.
• Despite not scoring points, Aleah Ashlee led the Vikes with eight rebounds, and also added two assists and one steal to her stat line.
• Pankratz finished with 13 points on the night, also totalling seven rebounds, two assits, two steals, and two blocks in the win.

Game two: Victoria 78, Thompson Rivers 75
January 29, 2022
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter – TRU 28, UVic 21

• In an almost repeat of Friday night, Ashlyn Day opened the game scoring with a three-pointer. She would proceed to score back-to-back three's, giving UVic a 6-3 lead in the early stages.
• The WolfPack came out with hot shooting, building an eight-point lead, 28-21, after the first 10 minutes of play.
• UVic and TRU combined for 10 made three-pointers in the opening frame, four of which came from the Vikes.

2nd Quarter – TRU 47, UVic 35

• Thompson Rivers continued to display its strong shooting in the first half, notching clips of 52.6% from behind the three-point line and 42.5% in field goal range to keep the Vikes at a distance.
• Despite Day's perfect 4-for-4 field goal shooting performance in the first half, the Vikes trailed, 47-35, at the halftime break.

3rd Quarter – TRU 66, UVic 59

• Unfazed by the halftime deficit, the Vikes opened on a 7-0 run. A Mimi Sigue put-back opened the third, and was followed by a layup from Karsen Look and three from Calli McMillan to cut the WolfPack's lead to five, 47-42, with eight minutes to play.
• Having a dominant third quarter, McMillan would pull the Vikes even with TRU on a three-pointer and breakaway layup on consecutive possessions, 49-49.
• Chipping away the WolfPack's lead, UVic outscored TRU 24-19 in the third quarter, but still trailed, 66-59, heading in to the final 10 minutes of play.

4th Quarter – UVic 78, TRU 75

• Tana Pankratz would make key shots for the Vikes in the fourth, beginning with a bucket to tie the game, 66-66, with 7:50 to play.
• Nearly two minutes later, Pankratz would score on a layup attempt to give Victoria the lead, 70-68, which it would maintain for the remainder of the game.
• A three-pointer from Day extended the Vikes' lead to five, 77-72, with 50 seconds to play. However, the WolfPack would answer with a three of their own to pull within two, 77-75, with 20 seconds left.
• Day would make one final free throw in the final seconds to seal the Vikes' win, 78-75.
• The Vikes outscored the WolfPack, 19-9, in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

WORTH NOTING

• McMillan posted a career-high 24 points while leading the Vikes in the win. In addition, the fifth-year was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and also tallied six rebounds, three assists, and two steals in an outstanding performance.
• The Vikes held TRU to single-digit scoring in the fourth quarter in both matchups over the weekend (five Jan. 28, nine Jan. 29).
• Day finished with 21 points for the second-straight night, while Pankratz was close behind with 17 points in the win.
• Pankratz added a team-high 13 rebounds for the double-double, her first of the season.
• Referred to as a "WolfPack Legend" by the TRU broadcasting crew, Vikes lead assistant coach Diane Schuetze captured two wins over her alma mater, where she was a standout All-Canadian player.
• UVic improves to 6-4 on the season with the two wins, and is now on a four-game win streak.

UP NEXT
The Vikes will welcome mainland rival University of British Columbia to CARSA Performance Gym next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4-5.