Mariners Erupt in Second Half

The VIU Mariners exploded in the third quarter of their CCAA quarterfinal and scored a win over the ACAA champion St. Thomas Tommies on the national stage, beating them 56-41 on Wednesday afternoon.

After a very low scoring first quarter which saw the teams combine to score 12 points, the second frame was a bit more offensive.  The Mariners outscored the Tommies 17-16 but trailed by a point at halftime.

Second half adjustments in any game are always extremely important, but it is especially noticeable at a national championship.  Coming into the third quarter the Mariners looked like a completely different team after their adjustments, and it showed on the scoreboard.  They were able to outscore the Tommies 21-7 in the frame, putting the game out of reach as they recorded the quarterfinal victory.

As a team on the offensive side, the Mariners shot 32% with Kaia Simpson picking up right where she left off at the PACWEST championship.  She came off the bench to provide a spark finishing with a game high 14 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.  Sammy Shields was also solid off the bench, adding 11 points. In all the Mariners bench outscored the Tommies 33-9.

On the defensive end the Mariners showed why they are difficult to score upon.  They held the Tommies to 23% from the field, 18% from three-point line with only one player reaching double figures.

Simpson was named the Player of the Game.

With the victory the Mariners advance to the semifinals in Montreal and will meet the RSEQ champion Geants de Saint-Jean on Thursday afternoon at 3:00pm PST in a semi-final with a berth in the national gold medal game on the line.