The Vikes learned a lot and look forward to the year, says head Coach
Photo by AP Shutter.
From Oct. 13 to 15, the UVic Vikes Women’s basketball team hosted an invitational tournament at CARSA to start their year.
For their first game of the season, the Vikes played the Carleton Ravens, who are the reigning national champions. The Ravens played quickly and shot consistent baskets, with the Vikes pushing hard to follow their lead.
The first quarter saw a three-pointer from Tegan MacKinnon, a fifth-year Vikes guard from St. Albert, Alberta.
Carleton played with an intensive defense, starting early in each play with a full-court press. Their accuracy made them a menacing opponent, with the score at 17–7 for the Ravens with three minutes left in the quarter.
Third-year Vikes forward Abigail Becker blocked some of the Ravens’ shots and popped up a couple of baskets to help her team maintain an 11-point deficit at the end of the first quarter.
The start of the second quarter saw a basket by Vikes guard Sierra Reisig, but Carleton continued their lead with consistent three-pointers and powerful defending. Carleton’s force led them to foul multiple times, helping the Vikes to earn points with accurate free-throws.
The third quarter began with a score of 43–25 for Carleton. Their 20-point lead continued throughout the quarter, as they made consistent baskets despite fouling the Vikes in the process.
Vikes forward Mimi Sigue drew some of those fouls and picked up numerous rebounds to stop the Ravens from getting too far ahead. The end of the third also saw three-pointers from two Vikes rookies — Makena Anderson and Karis de Paiva.
Carleton continued its 20-point lead as the fourth quarter progressed, but the Vikes never gave up and played with poise and determination. The final score was 84–61 for the Carleton Ravens.
The Vikes played the University of Alberta Pandas on Saturday, losing 74–50 against the third-best team in Canada.
Sunday’s opponent was the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat. Both teams played hard, but by the third quarter, the Vikes held a six point lead. The end of the third saw a breakaway and three-pointer by guard Tana Pankratz, a third-year player from Abbotsford.
The Vikes led by 10 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Heat earned multiple free throws after being fouled, tightening the score to 81–78 with 40 seconds left in the game. Not letting the Heat defeat them, the Vikes held on to their lead and scored two more points to finish the game at 83–78.
Sierra Reisig is in her fifth and final year at UVic, and told the Martlet that she’s looking forward to it. “It’s really exciting because we have a lot of new players on our team,” she said.
“It’s refreshing to see all of the rookies come out and play hard,” said Reisig, adding that “it’s nice to have our first win under our belt.”
Reisig’s personal goal for the season is to “be the best leader [she] can be,” and she looks forward to watching the team come together as the year progresses.
Head Coach Carrie Watts told the Martlet that she feels this tournament was a great experience for the young team. “It was a real good test for us this early in the season, playing last year’s defending national champions,” she said.
Watts is excited about the new players on her team. “I think this was a really good opportunity this weekend to try some different lineups, see different combinations of people,” she added.
The Vikes’ next home game is this Saturday Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. in the CARSA Performance Gym against the Trinity Western University Spartans.
