Valentine's Day Recap
The Mariners, Falcons and Bearcats win on Saturday in women's basketball
There was no love lost on Valentine’s Day as women’s basketball wrapped up Week 13 with a full schedule of games.
VIU Mariners 76
Camosun Chargers 59
The first place Mariners grew their lead a top the PACWEST standings with a weekend sweep at Camosun following a lopsided win on Saturday afternoon.
They outscored the Chargers in the first and third quarters en route to their 19th win of the campaign, moving four points in front of the idle and second place Douglas Royals. During Saturday’s win, their offence shot 43% with 11 different scorers hitting a bucket. Both Sammy Shields and Emily Sprott came off the bench to lead the way with 12 points each, the only Mariners in double figures. A total of 49 of their 76 points came off the bench.
Conversely it was the Chargers’ starters that did most of the damage because their bench only produced 19 points. As a team they shot 30% with Brooklyn Walbaum potting a game high 14 points and Jayci Chase tallied a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards.
Next weekend is the regular season final with the Mariners (19-3) hosting the Douglas Royals (17-5) in a first-place showdown. With the loss on Saturday the Chargers (6-16) fail to gain any ground in the standings and will finish as the sixth seed regardless of what happens next weekend when they host the CBC Bearcats (12-10)
Langara Falcons 85
Okanagan Coyotes 66
Saturday afternoon the Falcons came out flying in the first quarter outscoring the Coyotes 30-16 and cruised to their ninth win of the season and swept the seasonal series.
The offensive punch by the Falcons (9-13) held the hot hand shooting 50% with four of their five starters reaching the double-digit plateau led by Bianca Padolina and her 14 points. Katelyn Lafleur scored 13 and Nadia Singh and Sydney Chiasson each knocked in 12 in the win. The victory, coupled by a Camosun Charger loss allows the Falcons to clinch fifth place in the standings with two games to go.
The Coyotes (0-24) finish the season winless after shooting 44% on Saturday with all but four of their points coming from their starters. Maria Amarilla was outstanding with a game high 22 points and 10 rebounds on 61% shooting while Jordan Kemper tallied 19 in her final PACWEST game and Antonella Luraghi added 15 to conclude her wonderful campaign.
Next weekend the Falcons conclude their schedule when they host the Capilano Blues (15-7)
CBC Bearcats 61
Capilano Blues 58
There are no stats available at time of writing.
With the victory, the Bearcats win their 12th game of the year and clinch fourth place in the PACWEST standings with two games to go on the regular season schedule. They will play the fifth seeded Langara Falcons in a quarterfinal at the championship tournament beginning on March 5th. Next weekend the Bearcats (12-10) will visit the Camosun Chargers (6-16) in the regular season finale.
After the loss, the Blues (15-7) failed to gain any ground in the standings, still chasing the idle Douglas Royals, however they do own the tiebreaker. The Blues are still four points behind the Royals and a first-round bye into the championship tournament. Now the only way to overtake the Royals is to win both games next weekend and have the Royals lose both of theirs. Next weekend the Blues will face the Langara Falcons (9-13) in a home-and-home.