If it鈥檚 not trains, planes and automobiles, it鈥檚 certainly ferries and buses.
The University of Victoria Vikes men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 basketball teams each play seven of their first eight sa国际传媒 West games on the road, continuing Friday and Saturday in Kamloops, against their Thompson Rivers University WolfPack counterparts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 challenging, for sure,鈥� said UVic men鈥檚 head coach Craig Beaucamp.
His Vikes (1-3) opened with a split in Winnipeg against the Wesmen before dropping both ends of their cross-strait set against the UBC Thunderbirds at CARSA gym and then War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.
To make matters worse, the injury bug has hit early and been voracious. Hayden Lejeune, the Vikes鈥� starting centre, is out indefinitely. Jason Scully, who scored 18 points in UVic鈥檚 last game, joins point-guard Scott Kellum in the concussion protocol.
鈥淲e鈥檙e obviously missing some bodies. It鈥檚 part of the game and you have to deal with it,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a next-man-up mentality. You focus on weekend to weekend.鈥�
If there is an aspect of court play Beaucamp wants to shore up, it鈥檚 the defensive end. The Vikes鈥� 87-81 loss to U Sports No. 6-ranked UBC in Vancouver last Saturday showed the Vikes can score. That is especially so for the dynamic Mason Loewen, who added 26 points to go with his eight rebounds and eight assists. But that doesn鈥檛 matter when you鈥檙e leaking points at the other end.
鈥淲e are looking for consistency at the defensive end,鈥� said Beaucamp.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 put that kind of pressure on your offence where it has to score up to 90 points to win.鈥�
The tight loss in Vancouver was heartening at least on some levels, especially after the 26-point blowout defeat against UBC that preceded it at home.
鈥淚t was a two-point game in the rematch all the way through, against a national top-10 opponent, and there were some good things to build off in that game,鈥� said Beaucamp.
Thompson Rivers (1-1 and coming off an early bye week) swept UVic last season, giving the Vikes even more to think about on the bus up to the Interior.
鈥淭RU is a solid team and is right in that middle group in the conference,鈥� said Beaucamp.
The UVic Vikes women鈥檚 squad, meanwhile, heads into Kamloops 3-1 in conference play while the WolfPack are winless at 0-2.
鈥淲e have to be aware they are hungry and will be looking to win in their opening weekend at home,鈥� said UVic head coach Dani Sinclair.
鈥淵ou can never overlook any team. We are not focusing on wins and losses and where we are in the standings. We want to continue improving and playing as a team.鈥�
The female Vikes are also not without their injury woes.
鈥淭wo of our best players, Marissa Dheensaw [out for the season with an ACL tear] and Kristy Gallagher [gone until at least December with a knee issue] are out and we have had to compensate as a group,鈥� said Sinclair.
Sinclair added that Callie McMillan and Morgan Roskelley have had to fill in as a tag team at point guard in the absence of Gallagher.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge role to take on. I am pleased how our group as a whole has evolved this season,鈥� said Sinclair.
Meanwhile, fifth-year shooting star Amira Giannattasio has been named both sa国际传媒 West and U Sports female athlete of the week for her 44 points in the triple-overtime loss against UBC that broke two-time Olympian Carol Turney Loos鈥� old Vikes team record of 42 points from a game in 1978. Turney Loos, however, amassed her total against Saskatchewan in regulation time and before the advent of the three-point line. But that doesn鈥檛 take away from Giannattasio鈥檚 feat, which is the fourth-highest single-game total in sa国际传媒 West history.
