Cougars throw scare into Vikes
Cougars can be a scary beast — and the Mount Royal variety proved just that on Friday night.
The visiting Mount Royal Cougars of Calgary clawed back from a 15-point deficit at the half and cut the advantage to just four points early in the fourth quarter, before falling 85-75 to the host UVic Vikes at CARSA Performance Gym.
It was the ninth straight Canada West women’s basketball win for the now 13-4 Vikes, led by veteran Amira Giannattasio, who pumped in a game-high 28 points. The Vikes will look for their 10th consecutive triumph today at 5 p.m. against Mount Royal.
“We got casual, we didn’t defend very well all night and from halfway through the third quarter, we just let them go straight to the basket. We didn’t contain the ball at all,” Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair said. “We have to do a better job of ball screen defence and knowing where shooters are. We also need to play with a little more passion.”
Calli McMillan and Kristy Gallagher each recorded 13 points for the Vikes, while Katie Langdon added 10 points and seven rebounds. Aleah Ashlee had 10 rebounds to go with her six points.
Gala Mestres had 17 points for the struggling 1-16 Cougars, and Michelle Tiffany collected 16.. The Vikes found their offence later in the fourth quarter.
“We needed that offence. When we were more aggressive in attacking the rim we found some stuff. But we let a team score 20 points more than their average, so that’s a big concern defensively that we are going to have to fix,” said Sinclair, who watched her team grab a 24-15 lead after the first quarter and stretch it out to a 42-27 advantage at the half.
That’s when the Cougars came alive, pressing the Vikes throughout the third quarter to cut it to 59-52. The advantage was reduced to four points early in the fourth, but the Vikes pulled away at 70-65 and never looked back.
McMillan showed plenty of spunk in the win.
“She’s been coming along really well since the break,” said Sinclair. “She’s so dynamic and allows us to play with pace. When you have Kristy and Amira on either wing and Calli controlling the pace, it can be pretty tough to defend.”
In men’s play, Josh Ross went off for 43 points for the Cougars, but the Vikes had five players in double figures to earn a 100-97 victory to improve to 10-7. Jason Scully and Justin Kinnear each had 21 points for UVic, while Mason Loewen added 16 and Hayden Lejeune and Jordan Charles had 14 and 13, respectively, in the win over Mount Royal (7-10).