Abbotsford, B.C. – The 10th-seeded University of Victoria women's basketball team took down the second-seeded University of British Columbia, 66-63, in the quarterfinal round of the Canada West playoffs, Feb. 22 at the UFV Athletic Centre to clinch their first appearance in the semifinal round since the 2014-15 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Vikes grabbed a quick 4-0 lead on jumpers from Mimi Sigue and Abigail Becker. After UBC's first points of the day, two more Becker buckets gave the Vikes an 8-3 lead with 8:42 to play in the opening quarter.
• Though UBC would take a 9-8 lead on a pair of free throws with 5:48 to go, another Becker jumper and pair of free throws by Tana Pankratz put the Vikes back ahead, 12-9, one minute later.
• Trading baskets for remainder of the first quarter, the Vikes and Thunderbirds finished tied, 18-18, after the first 10 minutes of play.
• Victoria and UBC went nearly shot-for shot throughout the second quarter, with no side trailing by more than two points until the final 20 seconds when UBC hit a jumper for the 36-33 advantage.
• A free throw by Pankratz with 10 seconds left and a Karis de Paiva jumper at the buzzer tied the game, bringing the score to 36-36 at halftime.
• UBC scored the first seven points of the third quarter, taking a 43-36 lead with 8:09 to go in the frame.
• An Anderson jumper and Sierra Reisig three pulled the Vikes back within two, 43-41, with 7:38 still on the clock in the third, paving the way for a Becker jumper to tie the game once again, 43-43 at the 6:21 mark.
• Capitalizing on the momentum, a de Paiva three and jumper followed by a Pankratz three put the Vikes ahead by four, 51-47, with just over four minutes to play in the third.
• A Pankratz block followed by the Vikes defence forcing a 24 second violation on UBC resulted in a Pankratz jumper and Brooklyn White two in consecutive UVic possessions for the largest Vikes lead of the game (8), 55-47, leading to a UBC-called timeout with 3:04 to play in the third.
• UBC scored the final four points of the frame to narrow the Vikes' lead to 55-51 at the end of the third.
• The Thunderbirds tied the game, 55-55, with 8:46 to go in the fourth quarter before a Becker jumper put the Vikes back in front, 57-55, with 7:17 on the clock.
• After a near-five minute scoring drought for the Vikes that saw UBC take a 61-59 lead, Reisig knocked down a three to put UVic back on top, 62-61, with 2:17 to play in the fourth.
• Coming out of a UBC-called timeout, the Thunderbirds scored to tie the game at 63-63 with 1:25 remaining.
• Getting fouled, Sigue made one-of-two free throws before getting her own rebound and being fouled again on the put-back try. Going two-for-two during her second visit to the line, she put the Vikes ahead 66-63 with 17 seconds to play.
• Playing strong defence during the Thunderbirds' final possession, the Vikes did not allow the Thunderbirds to score and came away with the 66-63 win to upset the two seed. 

WORTH NOTING

• Becker led the Vikes with 20 points, completing the double-double effort with 10 rebounds. She added a team-high four assists in the win.
• Sigue also recorded a double-double, scoring 12 points and tying her career-high with 15 rebounds in 21 minutes on the floor.
• Pankratz finished with 13 points in the win, posting team-highs in assists and steals with four in each category.
• The Vikes clinched their first appearance in the Canada West semifinals since the 2014-15 season with the win.
• The last win in the quarterfinals for the Vikes came in the 2016-17 season when the format was a best-of-three series, but the Vikes ultimately fell to Winnipeg and did not advance to the semifinals.
• Victoria now sits at 12-10 on the year with a 2-0 playoff record. 

UP NEXT
The Vikes will face the No. 6 seed University of Alberta in the semifinal round Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m.