Despite three hard-fought losses against elite teams from Canada West, Victoria uses adversity as fuel for future success
Photo by Jacob Mallari.
The Vikes women’s basketball team faced a steep preseason trial at the CARSA gym, hosting three of Canada West’s premier programs during the UVic Invitational tournament from Oct. 16 to 18. Competing against the Regina Cougars, Calgary Dinos, and the defending U SPORTS national champion Saskatchewan Huskies, the Vikes came up short in all three games.
Yet, for a young roster undergoing a structural transformation, the games were defined by a foundational commitment to continuous growth.
Adjusting to new leadership under Assistant Coaches Jordan Webb and Meg Wilson, the Vikes hold eight returning players alongside four newcomers. This squad is operating with no graduating seniors, and a single fourth-year player on the roster. The youth of this team offers a long-term horizon for the program. Assistant Coach Webb commented following Saturday’s match against Saskatchewan that the primary focus for this season is to grow together and steadily improve as a team.
“We felt pretty good coming in, knowing that this would be a much more challenging tournament, [facing] some of the top teams in our conference,” Webb said. “Growth is probably the biggest focus. We want to just keep improving throughout the season, game by game, week by week, and find out what we are capable of.”
Webb highlighted that the roster’s unique continuity provides future leverage for the team, “One of the exciting pieces about this group is that nobody graduates…. With no one graduating, you can really look to push in the next couple of years.”
Coming off a successful road sweep in Yellowknife, N.W.T., earlier in October, the Vikes displayed moments of high-level play on their home court against top-tier competitors.
In the Friday night opener against Regina, second-year guard Avery Geddes poured in 24 points, while fourth-year forward Makena Anderson dropped 18 points and nine rebounds. Victoria took a 13–11 lead after the first quarter, before Regina’s 38 bench points reeled in the win.
On Saturday against Saskatchewan, the Vikes hung on tight through a gritty first half, trailing 39–30 at the break, Anderson leading the scoreboard with 19 points. Third-year guard Eden Henderson had a scorching shooting performance, sinking five-of-six three-pointers off the bench to finish with 15 points.
In Sunday’s tournament finale against Calgary, Anderson tallied up 25 points with four three-pointers, accompanied by Geddes’ 12 points and eight rebounds.
Facing more experienced lineups forced UVic to lean heavily into its core identity; focusing on conditioning, full-court defensive pressure, and transition speed.
“Fitness is a big thing for us this year — we’re really small, so we want to be really fast,” Henderson said. “As a team, we want to push in transition… we want to be able to play in the full court defensively.”
As the Vikes prepare for a two-game road weekend in Alberta, followed by their Canada West regular season, the team’s long-term sights remain fixed.
“We want to finish really high in Canada West,” said Anderson. “Making nationals is always a goal for every team, and I think this year we’re very committed to being one of the top teams in Canada West.”
Both Vikes basketball teams will return home for their season opener on Oct. 29, where they will face the University of Fraser Valley Cascades. The women’s tipoff is at 6 p.m. followed by the men’s at 8 p.m.
