The University of Victoria Vikes women’s basketball team was red-hot going into their Canada West quarter-final series in Calgary against the Dinos.
But that still wasn’t hot enough.
The Vikes’ season came to a quick end in the Alberta city as the Dinos swept the best-of-three series 2-0, defeating the Vikes handily 80-61 in Game 2 on Saturday.
The youthful Vikes came into the series having won 13 straight games, including their play-in game victory over Fraser Valley the previous weekend.
But the Dinos, led by two talented seniors, were also cookin’, and with Saturday’s victory have now won nine straight games.
Calgary will take their impressive offensive game to Regina next weekend for a semifinal series with the top-ranked Cougars.
On Saturday, it was the Dinos storming out of the gate again, taking a 21-12 lead after the first quarter and then never looking back.
Seniors Brianna Ghali and Shannon Hatch had strong games early and then went to the bench to rest up in the second half. Ghali had eight points and four rebounds in just 21 minutes work, while Hatched poured in 12 points and seven boards. The Dinos were led by Bobbi-Jo Colbourn, who racked up a game-high 22 points.
The Vikes’ dynamic duo of Amira Giannattasio and Kristy Gallagher were again silenced by the Dinos. Giannattasio, who averaged 17.9 points per game during the regular season, only managed nine on Saturday and 15 points total in the two games. Gallagher finished Saturday with seven points.
The story of the game for the Vikes, who can bring back every player next season, was the play of Aleah Ashlee. The second-year guard from Comox poured in a team-high 16 points and added eight rebounds.
