Aneesa Heatherington /UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER - Amira Gianattasio went off for 29 points as the UVic Vikes edged the UBC Thunderbirds 77-73 in front of a raucous Courtside crowd at War Memorial Gym. Victoria improved to 16-4 and will likely enjoy a first-round bye in the playoffs, while the T-Birds head into the postseason with a 10-10 record and a first-round matchup still to be determined.
"The Vikes have had a very good season and they're on a great winning streak, but we knew it would be a highly contested series," said UBC Head Coach Deb Huband. "I think we had a bit of a sluggish start today and then got it going in the second half. A few defensive glitches late in the fourth let their [Gianattasio] get off for six or eight points, which I think were the difference-makers today."
Jessica Hanson led the way with a game-high 28 points for the Thunderbirds, going 6 for 10 from three and adding four rebounds with four assists. "They're tough, gritty games," said Hanson. "We knew it was going to be tough, exciting and come down to the wire. It's a good learning experience for us for sure going forward."
An early Hanson three broke the tie in the first quarter, and Maddison Penn sliced her way to the rim to give the home team a 16-13 advantage. Haily Weaver evened it up with a triple of her own on the next possession to turn the tides in UVic's favour and start a 6-0 run. Down three with the clock winding down in the opening frame, Ali Norris sped through the Vikes defence and layed it in at the buzzer to make it a 19-18 UVic lead.
Gianattasio hit a pair from beyond the arc in the second frame to give the Vikes a 29-24 edge, and widened the lead to 10 with a steal and a layup with just under three minutes remaining in the half. Hanson went 3-for-4 from three in the first 20 minutes, but the T-Birds shot just 33 per cent from the free throw line and UVic took advantage of 11 bench points to lead 40-31 at halftime.
The Vikes maintained a comfortable lead to start the third quarter before Penn fired a no-look pass to Hanson for three - cutting the UVic lead to seven. Kristy Gallagher responded with a euro-step for two of her 17 points on the night, but Hanson nailed her fifth triple and added a pull-up jumper with two seconds left in the quarter to make it a two-point game after three.
UBC brought a full-court press in the fourth quarter and their energy translated on the scoreboard. Keylyn Filewich grabbed an offensive rebound and scored her sixth field goal to knot it up at 55-55 before Penn took it to the hoop for an and-one - giving the 'Birds their first lead since the first quarter. Giannattasio came right back with two straight threes to reclaim a 61-58 advantage for the visiting Vikes. With just 33 seconds left in the regular season Hanson hit her sixth three to bring the 'Birds within two but, as the clock wound down, Hanson's game-tying attempt rattled off the rim.
"It feels kind of unconscious because you're not thinking about in," said Hanson. "You're in the flow of the game and the crowd was awesome tonight...it just sucks I didn't hit the last one. I think these were great games for us, especially going into the playoffs, but I think we still have yet to play our best basketball. I think we'll be bringing it for playoffs and beyond."
Penn finished another double-double with 15 points and 11 boards, while Filewich put up 20 points with five rebounds and two steals in the loss.
Coach Huband was pleased with the performance of her young roster and is looking forward to making some noise come playoff time.
"We're playing better basketball than we did earlier in the year, so we're definitely taking strides in the right direction. We'll see what we can do in the postseason starting next week."
PHOTO: Rich Lam / UBC Thunderbirds