There might have been a moment when the University of Victoria Vikes were thinking a major upset was in the offing Thursday night.
The Vikes led by two points at halftime of Game 1 of their best-of-three Canada West women’s basketball playoff quarter-final series against the host University of Regina Cougars.
But the Cougars, 17-3 in the regular season and ranked No. 6 nationally in U Sports, went on a 24-2 run in the third quarter to defeat the Vikes 71-51.
“We got a little frustrated early and didn’t handle it well. But I figured we were going to be OK in the third quarter, and we got enough points there,” Cougars head coach Dave Taylor said in a statement.
Kyanna Giles and Angela Bongomin both had double-doubles for the Cougars. Giles had 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Bongomin had 12 points and 12 rebounds in 16 spirited minutes off the bench.
Amira Giannattasio, the third all-time scorer in Vikes team history, finished with 13 points to lead UVic, which was 12-10 in the regular season. Ashlyn Day had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Vikes and Aleah Ashlee 10 points.
“We fully expect Amira [Giannattasio] to come out firing [Friday night] and she’s going to be a handful to deal with,” Taylor warned.
Game 2 is Friday night in Regina. Game 3, if required, would be Saturday night.
“The toughest game to win is an elimination game, and even more so when the other team’s best player [Giannattasio] is in their fifth year,” Taylor said.
The Vikes and Regina split their Canada West regular-season set 1-1.
The Vikes defeated the Fraser Valley Cascades 80-61 in the single-game first-round conference playoff last Friday at CARSA Gym. The Cougars had a first-round bye.
