Vikes in Calgary for basketball showdown
There鈥檚 not much to choose between the University of Victoria Vikes women鈥檚 basketball team and their sa国际传媒 West quarter-final opponent, the Calgary Dinos.
The Dinos get to host the best-of-three series starting today in Calgary because of the slightest of edges in the Ratings Performance Index (used to determine strengths of schedules). Calgary, which finished 15-5 in the regular season, had a .0019 RPI advantage over the 16-4 Vikes.
The Vikes come into Game 1 riding a sa国际传媒 West-best 13-game winning streak.
The Dinos, who had a first-round bye, haven鈥檛 lost in seven games.
And in case you were thinking the head-to-head matchup during the season would be a good indication of what鈥檚 to come, the two teams didn鈥檛 face one another in the regular season.
They did, however, square off back in October in a preseason game, which the Dinos won 73-59.
鈥淲e played them early on, but both teams have changed a lot since then,鈥� Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair said in a statement after her club easily disposed of the Fraser Valley Cascades in last weekend鈥檚 play-in game.
鈥淭hey have some new players since then so there鈥檚 no real familiarity between the two teams.
鈥淪o it鈥檒l be interesting to see how it all plays out.鈥�
If the Vikes are to advance out of this series and set up a likely date with the top-ranked Regina Cougars in the sa国际传媒 West semifinals, UVic will need sharpshooters Amira Giannattasio and Kristy Gallagher to continue their hot hands. The two led the team in scoring, averaging 17.9 and 17.8 points per game.
The Dinos are led by a pair of senior guards in Brianna Ghali and Shannon Hatch, who averaged 14.8 and 11.4 points per game.
鈥淭hey are athletic and they like to pressure a lot,鈥� Sinclair said.
Today鈥檚 game tips off at 5 p.m. PST. Game 2 goes Saturday at 4 p.m. PST, and Game 3, if necessary, is set for noon PST on Sunday.
