Vikes hope to end basketball slump in Edmonton

Riding a four-game losing skid, the UVic Vikes women’s basketball team is looking to snap out of the doldrums in Edmonton this weekend, hoping to head into the Christmas break on a high note.

The 4-4 Vikes take on the 5-3 U of Alberta Pandas at 5 p.m. today and Saturday, just ahead of the men’s games at the Saville Community Sports Centre in the Alberta capital.

Both Vikes squads are coming off Canada West bye weeks after the women were swept at home by Saskatchewan, while the men won both games the previous week.

“I think, looking at the schedule when it came out, that this would be a challenging stretch with three weekends of top teams in the conference. But if you want to be part of that conversation, that’s what you want,” women’s coach Dani Sinclair said.

“We’ve shown spurts of good and we’ve also shown spurts of inconsistency, so we have to focus on each possession. As corny as that is, we have to focus on one thing at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves.”

That inconsistency has been hard on Sinclair, who is directing all her focus on that one intangible.

“We talked about it at practice. We’re kind of at one end of the spectrum or the other. We are either fantastic or making bonehead-type plays, so we need to find that middle ground and be solid,” she said.

“That’s what it’s going to take: Be better on the specifics of the actual games, like needing to rebound and defend and all that it encompasses. “It’s about consistency of play.” As for the Vikes men’s team, coach Craig Beaucamp’s 5-3 group will have its hands full against the 8-0 Golden Bears club, ranked No. 3 in the country.

“It’s a really good test for us, obviously,” Beaucamp said. “We’ve had a couple wins now. But now we’re going to go play a good team in our conference and on the road, so I think it’s a good measuring stick to see where we’re at.

“This is the team that won the conference last year and they pretty much have everybody back. They’re a top rebounding team in the conference, too, and that’s what sticks out.”

Both teams have been tough defensively so far this Canada West season, but the Golden Bears are that much better on the boards.

Alberta is allowing the fewest points per game in the conference (63.1). The Vikes are third at 73.3 points per game allowed. UVic has surrendered the fewest turnovers per game at 12.4.

“It’s still relatively early, but we’re holding our own as far as field-goal percentage difference and points against. I think were in the top four or five or even higher in both categories,” Beaucamp said. “The one category that has to get better for us, to take another step, is the rebounding.

“I just think that the teams that end up in the Final 4 are consistently the top rebounding teams in the conference.”

Beaucamp wants his team to shore up that category and, obviously, the Vikes would love a split against the top Canada West team before heading into the holiday break.