VICTORIA – The University of Victoria Vikes women's basketball team will host the CARSA Performance Gym's first-ever playoff games after defeating the Brandon Bobcats 70-65 on Feb. 20. The win earns the Vikes the weekend sweep and rights to hosting the best-of-three Canada West Play-In Series on Feb. 26-28 at CARSA where they will face the Trinity Western Spartans.
 
Fourth-year Vike Jenna Krug had a stellar performance for the Vikes with 19 points while teammate Amira Giannattasio added 17 points and seven rebounds. Second year Kristy Gallagher did work from distance, shooting 3-for-6 from beyond the arc for a total of 11 points and four rebounds.
 
The Bobcats had a strong pushback in the second half, but Alyssa Montgomery's double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds was not enough to earn the Bobcats a spot in the postseason. Brandon was in need of a victory to secure their spot in the Canada West playoffs.
 
"For us to earn CARSA its first-ever playoff games is a great achievement for this team," said Vikes head coach Dani Sinclair of her team's accomplishment. "Now we start fresh and we'll see what we can do in the playoffs. I think the playoff implications came to mind in the girls down the stretch but thankfully we built a big enough buffer to help us earn the win."
 
Giannattasio started the game where she left off on Friday by nailing a three-pointer to give the Vikes the early 3-0 lead. Another three from Giannattasio and Gallagher from beyond the arc gave the Vikes an early 11-2 lead three minutes into the first quarter. A Keisha Cox three helped put together a nine-point run for the Bobcats who pulled the deficit to 21-18 at the end of the first.
 
Both teams started the second quarter well from distance with Marissa Dheensaw and Kaela Cranston hitting threes. Kristy Gallagher then hit two threes of her own before Jenna Krug joined the parade from distance to put the Vikes ahead 33-28 with three minutes left in the first half. Brandon finished off the scoring in the half with two from the line to make the score 40-36 for the Vikes heading into the break.
 
The Vikes found themselves in foul trouble in the first half, demonstrated by Brandon going 13-for-18 (72.2 per cent) from the line. Alyssa Montgomery led the Bobcats with 11 points, followed closely by teammate Kaela Cranston with 10. The Vikes were a sharp 8-for-11 (72.7 per cent) from three-point distance with Gallagher leading the way at 3-for-4. Both teams put together a strong first half, giving the game a definite playoff feel considering playoff implications.
 
Both teams started off the second half slow, but Krug began to show her brilliance on the night with two back-to-back layups off passes from Jenna Bugiardini. The baskets stretched her point total to 18 on the night after a quiet performance the night earlier. The Vikes entered the final quarter up 59-47.
 
An eight-point run from the Bobcats to begin the fourth quarter made the lead slim for the Vikes, who were ahead 61-57 with eight minutes to play. The Bobcats had their deficit down to four with 15.7 seconds remaining, but a failed offensive possession led to Giannattasio shooting from the line, where she converted to give the Vikes the 70-65 lead. The Vikes would hold on and take the final.
 
The win secures the Vikes fifth-place in the Canada West Pioneer Division and a home playoff berth against the seventh-place Trinity Western Spartans on Feb. 26-28 in the Canada West Play-In Series.