The goal is simple. Achieving it, not so much.
The University of Victoria Vikes women鈥檚 basketball team has two games left in the sa国际传媒 West Conference regular season and they just happen to be against their longtime rival UBC Thunderbirds. And it鈥檚 the 16-4 Thunderbirds who are currently in the position the 15-5 Vikes ultimately want to end up in 鈥� second place in the Pacific Division and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
So tonight at UBC鈥檚 War Memorial Gymnasium, the familiar battle begins.
鈥淲e know what we have to do. We need to win both these games to finish second,鈥� said Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair, whose club will host the back end of the home-and-home series Saturday at McKinnon Gym.
鈥淚t won鈥檛 be easy but we鈥檙e excited about the challenge and it has always been a huge rivalry so the girls will have little trouble getting up for these ones.鈥�
Stats-wise, the teams matchup closely. The Vikes, ranked No. 9 in the CIS, bring in the fourth best offence in sa国际传媒 West, averaging 71.7 points per game. The T-Birds, who are ranked No. 5 in the country, are No. 8 in offence in sa国际传媒 West with a 68.9 scoring average. UVic is led by guard Debbie Yeboah鈥檚 17.8 points a game 鈥� fourth in sa国际传媒 West, while UBC counts on leading scorer and North Vancouver native Kris Young鈥檚 16.5 points a game.
And as they gear up for the biggest games of their season, the Vikes and Thunderbirds are the two hottest teams in sa国际传媒 West. UVic has rolled off four straight wins, while UBC has put together a six-game winning streak.
鈥淲e know what they bring to the table,鈥� Sinclair said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e experienced with several players who went to nationals last season and they鈥檙e deep and they鈥檙e bigger than us. But we鈥檙e used to that. We鈥檝e dealt with that all season. We鈥檒l try to do things that we do well and take away some of their strengths.鈥�
Sinclair also knows her team will have to pay close attention to a familiar face in the T-Birds鈥� lineup. Fifth-year centre and Stelly鈥檚 Secondary grad Leigh Stansfield has been a force under the boards all season for UBC. She led the team to a silver medal at the national championship a year ago and would love another shot at a national title.
鈥淪he鈥檒l be a load for us,鈥� Sinclair said of Stansfield, who averages 14.6 points a game. 鈥淪he鈥檚 not only big, but she鈥檚 athletic.
鈥淏ut Kris is their leader. She鈥檚 a junior national team player who brings a lot to the table so we鈥檒l be paying close attention to her.鈥�
The T-Birds are also chasing Fraser Valley (16-4) for first in the Pacific Division, but UFV finishes with a home-and-home with fourth-place Trinity Western so the Cascades are in the driver鈥檚 seat.
The top two teams in the Pacific Division will host the third- and fourth-place teams from the Prairie Division in the first round of the playoffs. The third- and fourth-place teams in the Pacific will open on the road against the first- and second-place teams in the Prairie Division.
鈥淲e鈥檙e right in the thick of things, so we really couldn鈥檛 ask for much more than that,鈥� Sinclair said. 鈥淎nd we鈥檙e healthy and ready to get these games going.鈥�
The UVic men are in a very different position. Craig Beaucamp鈥檚 team locked up second place several weeks ago so their final two games against first-place UBC this weekend have very little meaning in the standings.
The Vikes (14-6) will host the third-place team from the Prairie Division 鈥� likely Manitoba or Winnipeg 鈥� in the best-of-three opening round, while the T-Birds (18-2) will host the Prairie Division鈥檚 fourth-place team and, if they win that, UBC will also host the sa国际传媒 West Final Four tournament.
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