The Regina Cougars went into clamp-down mode early 鈥� and the UVic Vikes women鈥檚 basketball team didn鈥檛 have a chance against the No. 1-ranked team in the nation as the sa国际传媒 West hoops season began in Saskatchewan on Friday night.
Regina opened a 40-21 lead at the half and never looked back in a 61-47 victory.
Charlotte Kot led the Cougars with 17 points while Katie Polischuk and Brittin Belyk added 13 and nine, respectively.
Nicole Karstein led the Vikes with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Fellow fifth-year Jenna Bugiardini was kept to a minimal four points, but also hauled in 10 rebounds.
The Vikes were ice cold from the three-point line, going just two-for-14.
鈥淭hey outcompeted us. They are obviously a very good team and you can鈥檛 let a team as skilled as they are outwork you,鈥� said Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淲e got behind in the first half, in the second quarter especially. We gave up 25 points and a lot of those were in transition. We didn鈥檛 follow the game plan and were down by 19 at half.鈥�
It was a much different story in men鈥檚 play, as the Vikes used a strong performance from Grant Sitton, who recorded 23 points despite sitting for most of the third and fourth quarters, to hammer the Cougars 95-77.
Victoria鈥檚 Hassan Abdullahi and Wayne Tucker Jr. added 16 points apiece.
Jake Newman recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Vikes, while Johneil Johnson, with 15, and Brandon Tull, with 13, led Regina.
Both Vikes teams will play again today in Regina.
Meanwhile, at the U Sports women鈥檚 rugby nationals in Victoria, Ottawa edged Calgary 7-5 in a defensive battle in the first semi-final while St. Francis Xavier downed Guelph 38-24 in the late game. The championship matchup is set for Sunday at 3 p.m. at Centennial Stadium.
The UVic Vikes meet Concordia in a consolation semi-final today at 2 p.m. at Wallace Field. Acadia plays McMaster in the other.
At the U Sports women鈥檚 field hockey championship in Toronto, the Vikes and the five-time reigning-champion UBC Thunderbirds played to a 1-1. Both sa国际传媒 West clubs remain undefeated, with 1-0-1 records heading to Day 3 today.
The T-Birds are undefeated against the Vikes in their last 10 meetings on the national stage (6-0-4), while also going 2-0-2 versus UVic during the 2016 regular season.
鈥淯BC is such a strong team and they have some dynamic players that are just all over the field,鈥� said Vikes head coach Lynne Beecroft.
鈥淚 think we had to work together to try and minimize their chances, which I think we did a good job in minimizing. I thought it was a good game.鈥�
Fifth-year defender Rosie Beale gave the Vikes a 1-0 lead off a penalty corner in the 38th minute. UBC replied as fourth-year veteran Meghan Hayden dove tipped in a Rachel Donohoe shot off a penalty corner in the 54th minute.
UBC will face Guelph today while the Vikes take on the Toronto Varsity Blues.
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