Down by 11 points with 4:31 to go in the second quarter, it was as if a switch went off for the UVic Vikes women鈥檚 basketball team.
Solid defence from that point on, and slick and timely three-point shooting from Amira Giannattasio, propelled the Vikes to a key 76-66 victory over the visiting Brandon Bobcats at CARSA Performance Gym on Friday night.
The victory keeps Victoria鈥檚 playoff hopes very much alive as they also benefited from a 77-57 UBC win over Winnipeg. Should both sa国际传媒 teams lose today, however, the Vikes would be out due to a four-way tie for the seventh and final sa国际传媒 West Pioneer Division post-season spot.
鈥淚t came down to defence in the end. We couldn鈥檛 get the shots we wanted, so it came down to getting stops and that鈥檚 what helped us win,鈥� said Giannattasio, who led the now 8-11 Vikes with 27 points, including six three-pointers. 鈥淐oach said that鈥檚 why we do those [defensive] drills in practice 鈥� three minutes, three stops in a row.鈥�
It doesn鈥檛 hurt when Giannattasio can get hot like that, as she stroked three three-pointers in the third quarter.
鈥淚t helped us a bit. I was happy for that,鈥� Giannattasio said with a smile.
The Vikes went on a 16-2 run early in that third quarter and a 17-1 stretch in the fourth, when Giannattasio knocked down her fifth and sixth three-pointers. Jenna Bugiardini added 22 points for Victoria while Alyssa Montgomery and Keisha Cox had 22 and 20, respectively, for Brandon (7-12).
鈥淲e knew it was going to be a grind-out type of game and we played better defensively in the second half, which was the key,鈥� said Vikes coach Dani Sinclair, who felt her team was tight to start the game after a week off.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 let it get out of hand in the first half, which was good. It was important for it to go into the half with it only being single digits.鈥�
The Vikes trailed 39-31 at the midway mark.
In men's play, the Vikes, already eliminated from the playoffs, defeated the Brandon Bobcats 68-55, with Grant Sitton scoring 22.
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