The University of Victoria Vikes defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 90-82 on Thursday night at War Memorial Gym in a sa国际传媒 West men’s basketball game featuring two U Sports nationally top-10 ranked teams. The Vikes (16-3) are No. 2 in the country behind the Carleton Ravens. The Thunderbirds (13-6), who had a nine-game winning streak snapped, are No. 8.
The game went back and forth with UBC leading 22-20 after the first quarter and 46-43 at the half. The Vikes led 64-62 after the third quarter and pulled ahead in the fourth.
UVic and UBC had both previously clinched playoff berths with the Vikes to host a sa国际传媒 West quarter-final next weekend at CARSA gym.
Meanwhile, the UVic women’s basketball team clinched a sa国际传媒 West playoff berth with a 76-47 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds earlier Thursday evening at War Memorial Gym.
UVic moved to 9-10 in conference play, while the Thunderbirds fell to 10-9. Both teams will be on the road for the playoff quarter-finals next weekend against opponents and venues to be decided.
Defending sa国际传媒 West scoring-champion Ashlyn Day led UVic with 21 points while Kate Johnson added 18 and Abigail Becker and Mimi Segue nine points each. Brooklyn White was dominant on the boards for UVic with 17 rebounds.
The win was especially sweet for UVic head coach Carrie Watts, who starred at UBC and then was assistant coach of the Thunderbirds for two decades, before taking the Vikes helm in 2021.
The UVic and UBC teams close out their conference regular seasons on Saturday with the return games on Ken and Kathy Shields Court at CARSA gymnasium on the UVic campus.
