鈥淭he Cougars are ranked No. 2 in sa国际传媒 and legitimately so,鈥� said Sinclair, of the sa国际传媒 West women鈥檚 basketball quarter-final playoff matchup between Regina and UVic.
鈥淭hey [Cougars] are quick, with size and experience, and are gunning for nothing less than the national championship.鈥�
The best-of-three series opens today at 5 p.m. Pacific time in the Saskatchewan capital. Game 2 is Saturday at 5 p.m. Pacific. Game 3, if needed, will be Sunday at 2 p.m. Pacific.
The Vikes (16-6) prevailed over Regina (19-3) in the only meeting this season between the teams, giving UVic some cause for optimism.
鈥淥ur players are anxious to play and are excited and ready,鈥� said Sinclair, of the upset-minded Vikes.
But UVic鈥檚 game execution will need to be near perfect.
鈥淩egina is the No. 1 scoring team in the league [led by Michelle Clark鈥檚 29 points per game] and a lot of that comes in transition,鈥� said Sinclair. 鈥淲e want to dictate the pace of the game. And we have to win the rebounding battle.鈥�
That means UVic fifth-year star Debbie Yeboah will have to shine at both ends of the court 鈥� the dynamic swing player leads UVic in both rebounding at 5.8 grabs per game and scoring at 18.2 points per game. And there is an able Vikes supporting cast led by Jessica Renfrew, Chelsea McMullen and Cassandra Goodis.
鈥淲e get contributions from many different people and that makes us difficult to play against,鈥� said Sinclair.
But these 鈥渄ifficult鈥� Vikes face an equally difficult task this weekend.
