Vikes wary of making trek into Pandas, Bears’ den
While oil prices seem to be in a free-fall, the University of Alberta women’s basketball team’s stock continues to rise.
At 8-1 in the Canada West standings, the U of A Pandas will be a formidable test for Dani Sinclair’s University of Victoria Vikes, who will be looking to extend their regular-season win streak to four games and overall run to seven, including holiday exhibition games.
The Pandas will be a much tougher challenge at home at the Saville Sports Centre tonight and Saturday than the 5-5 Vikes faced at home in a sweep of winless Manitoba last week.
“They have decent size up front, but I think their biggest strength is that they have a veteran back court that’s led them so far this season,” Sinclair said of the Pandas. “We will have to do a job defensively of containing the ball and limiting shots from the perimeter. Taking them out of their comfort zone in that respect is going to be important.”
Alberta finished 16-4 last season and has picked up right where it left off in 2014-15. This will be the Pandas’ first outing of 2016, experiencing a bye last week while others returned from the holiday break.
The Vikes, led last week by Hamilton natives Jenna Bugiardini and Amira Giannattasio, are looking to improve week by week.
“We have to be happy with two wins from the past weekend and being able to continue building on the momentum we’ve gathered from the past few games,” said Sinclair. “We are a relatively young team and we’ve had a few players who are in their first and second year step up and play big roles for us.”
Sinclair’s Vikes hit the floor at 5 p.m. today and 4 p.m. on Saturday, followed by the men at 7 tonight and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Alberta Golden Bears are just 4-5 on the season and in desperate need of a spark at home, while the visiting Vikes sit 6-4 after a split last weekend against the 7-3 Manitoba Bisons. UBC leads the Pioneer Division at 8-2, with Victoria in fifth. Alberta is eighth.
“It is another team log-jammed anywhere from first to eighth in the standings competing with us for playoff spots and seeding,” said Vikes men’s coach Craig Beaucamp. “These are big matchups for both teams this weekend and we have to play our game on the road, which will make the task difficult.”
After being badly out-rebounded by Manitoba last Saturday, the Vikes will need a definite improvement in that area of their game this weekend.
“It is a big team and we will have to rebound the ball well and be able to defend in the post,” offered Beaucamp. “Those are two strategies they employ and employ well. Not every team plays through the post in terms of how they look to score, so defending the post and rebounding strongly is a defensive strategy we’ll have to play in order to limit their opportunities.”
FREE THROWS: The Vikes men’s team this week announced the commitment of 17-year-old guard Scott Kellum for the 2016-17 season. The Issaquah, Washington, native will join Victoria after graduation from Issaquah High School where he helped his team to a third- and fourthplace finish at the past two 4A State High School Basketball Championships. “Scott is what we like to talk about when we say ‘student-athlete.’ He is a 90-plus student and a great basketball player. I have known him since he was in Grade 10 and his self-discipline on and off the court gives him an excellent opportunity to be very successful at the university level.”