Mariners Meet Bearcats

#1 VIU Mariners vs. #4 CBC Bearcats – Friday March 6, 12:30pm | WATCH HERE

It’s a rematch of the 2025 gold medal game when the top seeded Mariners (21-3) meet the fourth seeded Bearcats (13-11) in a women’s PACWEST semi-final on Friday afternoon.

They met four times during the regular season with the Mariners winning three times, but they haven’t seen each other since early January.  The lone Bearcats victory came in October, a five-point win at Abbotsford.

Coming into the postseason the Mariners have won nine straight games and have won 11 of their 12 games since the calendar turned to 2026.  They shoot 34% from the field and average just under 65 points a game showing a very balanced offence with only one player averaging double digits.  They score by committee and rely on their defence to shut team down.

Their defensive style will be on full display on Friday afternoon after holding the opposition to 53 points a game during the regular season.  In their four games against the Bearcats, they also held them to 53 points a game.

Speaking of the Bearcats they are coming off a quarterfinal win over the Langara Falcons on Thursday.  Offensively they shot 38% led by Kagari Tomita’s 20 points and 10 rebounds and Kendal Dueck off the bench who added 17 on 5-7 shooting.   Their defence was swarming and held the Falcons to 20% shooting, something they will need to do to upset the top ranked Mariners. 

One of their focuses again on the defensive side will be to limit second chance opportunities like they did against the Falcons.  On the offensive side, working the ball around with crisp passing to find an open shot will be critical on Friday.

The winner of this game will play for PACWEST gold on Saturday, plus receive an invitation to the CCAA national championship in Quebec in two weeks.  The Conference has two berths at this year’s championship tournament.