January 25, 2025. Victoria, BC (ISN) – The UVic Vikes basketball program gave the cold shoulder to the UBC Okanagan Heat Saturday afternoon, as both the men’s and women’s teams, playing host at CARSA Performance Gym, defeated the heat in front of a cheering crowd of supporters.
UVIC MEN VS UBCO HEAT
The University of Victoria men’s basketball team downed the University of British Columbia Okanagan, 85-70, Jan. 25 at CARSA Performance Gym to close their two-win weekend.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes take hold of lead in first quarter and never look back
- UBCO put the first points of the game on the board, taking their lone lead of the game, 2-0, on the opening possession.
- A three-pointer from Ethan Boag and layup from Geoffrey James quickly put the Vikes on top, 5-2, with 8:10 to go in the first.
- An 11-0 run for the Vikes on free throws from Sam Maillet, a Ryan Gallagher three, layups from Boag an Renoldo Robinson, and capped by a Sergio Pereiralayup put the Vikes ahead by double-digits, 16-4, with four minutes to go in the first.
- A layup by Scott Morozov was met by two points from the Heat in the final minute of the quarter to bring the Vikes’ lead to 22-11 after the opening 10 minutes of play.
- A near-four minute scoring drought from the Heat in the second quarter allowed Victoria to grow its lead to 16, 35-19, with one minute to play until halftime. UBCO broke the scoreless stretch in the final minute of the half, bringing UVic’s lead to 35-23 at the break.
- Outscoring the Heat 26-16 in the third, Dylan Gage knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the Vikes into the final minutes with a 61-39 advantage.
- James gave the Vikes their largest lead of the game in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, hitting a three for the 66-41 Vikes lead with just under eight minutes remaining.
- Maintaining the double-digit lead to the final buzzer, a dunk from Pereira in the final seconds brought the final score to 85-70 in favour of the home side.
WORTH NOTING
- Sam Maillet led the Vikes with 15 points, also posting team-highs in assists (6) and steals (2) while adding three rebounds and one block.
- Dylan Gage and Sergio Pereira each recorded season-high scoring efforts with 12 and 11 points, respectively, while Ryan Gallagher set a new career-high with 14 points. Ethan Boag rounded out the double-digit scoring performances for the Vikes with 13.
- Pereira led the Vikes with nine rebounds, while Aaron Tesfagiorgis recorded a season-high eight for the Vikes.
- Victoria improves to 14-0 with the win, while UBCO falls to 4-10 with the loss.
UVIC WOMEN VS UBCO HEAT
The University of Victoria women’s basketball team fended off the University of British Columbia Okanagan, 70-65, Jan. 25 at CARSA Performance Gym.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Vikes erase 8-point UBCO lead in first quarter
- Mimi Sigue put the Vikes on the board in the opening possession of the game, but UBCO scored the next eight points to take an 8-2 lead with 7:22 to go.
- The Heat’s lead would increase to nine points, 18-9, at the 3:57 mark of the first quarter. A layup from Meike Boerstra and eight combined free throws by Joaleah Tupas-Singh, Abigail Becker, Jade Dittmer, and Sigue brought the Vikes back within one, 20-19, with 32 seconds to go.
- One final basket by UBCO brought the Heat’s lead to 22-19 after the first 10 minutes of play.
Vikes outscore Heat by 10 to take lead at halftime
- Four points from Becker and a Natalie Allison jumper tied the game, 25-25, with 6:36 to go in the second quarter.
- A Tana Pankratz three-pointer followed by a Becker layup gave the lead back to the Vikes, 29-28, with 4:17 remaining until halftime.
- An 8-0 Vikes run on seven Sigue points and a free throw by Tupas-Singh stretched the Vikes’ lead to 37-28 with 2:20 still on the clock.
- Tupas-Singh scored a layup in the final few seconds of the frame to give Victoria a 41-34 lead at the half after outscoring UBCO 22-12 in the second quarter.
Vikes maintain lead through second half to closeout win
- Though UBCO came within one point in the third quarter, 47-46 at the 5:36 mark, two-straight Becker layups put the Vikes back up by five, 51-46, with 4:56 to go.
- A quick 6-0 run for the Vikes over two minutes grew their lead to nine, 57-48, with 41 seconds remaining in the third.
- The Heat hit the final basket of the quarter to bring the Vikes’ lead to 57-50 after three frames.
- A close fourth quarter, UBCO managed to tie the game, 61-61, with 4:05 to go. However, a Becker free throw, Sigue jumper and Pankratz three pushed the Vikes’ lead back out to six, 67-61, with 2:57 to play.
- Closing out the win over the final three minutes, the Vikes came away with the 70-65 win.
FROM THE COURT – Head coach Carrie Watts
“It’s always interesting to see how a team comes out in the second game after a game like Thursday [‘s win over UBC] where we went into overtime. There’s so much energy and emotion, and people logged a lot of minutes on the floor so I think coming into a game even two games after that is interesting to see. I think we started off super slow, not locked in to start or focusing on our points of emphasis. We weathered that storm a bit and had a really good second quarter. I think just the swings- it was slow-paced, lots of fouls called- makes it hard to find a rhythm. JoJo Tupas-Singh was fantastic and had a lot of impact not only tonight, but in Thursday’s win as well. Her coming into her own a bit on the court and seeing how much confidence she’s playing with right now is great.”
WORTH NOTING
- Abigail Becker led the Vikes with a double-double performance of 16 points and career-high 15 rebounds, adding two assists, one steal, and one block in the win.
- Mimi Sigue tied her season-high with 15 points, also notching four rebounds, one assist, and one steal for the Vikes.
- Joaleah Tupas-Singh had a career-high 11 points in the win, adding six rebounds and one assist. Tana Pankratz added a 12-point, six rebound night while leading the Vikes with two blocks.
- The Vikes improve to 9-5 on the year with the win, while UBCO falls to 4-10.