VICTORIA – The University of Victoria women's basketball team fended off the University of British Columbia Okanagan, 70-65, Jan. 25 at CARSA Performance Gym.
 
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes erase 8-point UBCO lead in first quarter

• Mimi Sigue put the Vikes on the board in the opening possession of the game, but UBCO scored the next eight points to take an 8-2 lead with 7:22 to go.
• The Heat's lead would increase to nine points, 18-9, at the 3:57 mark of the first quarter. A layup from Meike Boerstra and eight combined free throws by Joaleah Tupas-Singh, Abigail Becker, Jade Dittmer, and Sigue brought the Vikes back within one, 20-19, with 32 seconds to go.
• One final basket by UBCO brought the Heat's lead to 22-19 after the first 10 minutes of play.

Vikes outscore Heat by 10 to take lead at halftime

• Four points from Becker and a Natalie Allison jumper tied the game, 25-25, with 6:36 to go in the second quarter.
• A Tana Pankratz three-pointer followed by a Becker layup gave the lead back to the Vikes, 29-28, with 4:17 remaining until halftime.
• An 8-0 Vikes run on seven Sigue points and a free throw by Tupas-Singh stretched the Vikes' lead to 37-28 with 2:20 still on the clock.
• Tupas-Singh scored a layup in the final few seconds of the frame to give Victoria a 41-34 lead at the half after outscoring UBCO 22-12 in the second quarter.

Vikes maintain lead through second half to closeout win

• Though UBCO came within one point in the third quarter, 47-46 at the 5:36 mark, two-straight Becker layups put the Vikes back up by five, 51-46, with 4:56 to go.
• A quick 6-0 run for the Vikes over two minutes grew their lead to nine, 57-48, with 41 seconds remaining in the third.
• The Heat hit the final basket of the quarter to bring the Vikes' lead to 57-50 after three frames.
• A close fourth quarter, UBCO managed to tie the game, 61-61, with 4:05 to go. However, a Becker free throw, Sigue jumper and Pankratz three pushed the Vikes' lead back out to six, 67-61, with 2:57 to play.
• Closing out the win over the final three minutes, the Vikes came away with the 70-65 win.

FROM THE COURT – Head coach Carrie Watts
"It's always interesting to see how a team comes out in the second game after a game like Thursday ['s win over UBC] where we went into overtime. There's so much energy and emotion, and people logged a lot of minutes on the floor so I think coming into a game even two games after that is interesting to see. I think we started off super slow, not locked in to start or focusing on our points of emphasis. We weathered that storm a bit and had a really good second quarter. I think just the swings- it was slow-paced, lots of fouls called- makes it hard to find a rhythm. JoJo Tupas-Singh was fantastic and had a lot of impact not only tonight, but in Thursday's win as well. Her coming into her own a bit on the court and seeing how much confidence she's playing with right now is great."

WORTH NOTING

• Abigail Becker led the Vikes with a double-double performance of 16 points and career-high 15 rebounds, adding two assists, one steal, and one block in the win.
• Mimi Sigue tied her season-high with 15 points, also notching four rebounds, one assist, and one steal for the Vikes.
• Joaleah Tupas-Singh had a career-high 11 points in the win, adding six rebounds and one assist. Tana Pankratz added a 12-point, six rebound night while leading the Vikes with two blocks.
• The Vikes improve to 9-5 on the year with the win, while UBCO falls to 4-10. 

UP NEXT
The Vikes head to the University of Lethbridge for a pair of games Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Catch the action on Canada West TV presented by BioSteel.