The Mariners can't afford to lose like they did last week. All three of their losses this season have come on the road, and against the top defensive team in the province with second place on the line, it's as intense as a regular season game can be.
Friday - VIU 57, Capilano 45
The Mariners raced out to a 19-point lead halfway through the second quarter, but the Blues fought back to cut the deficit to single digits.
A 33-16 halftime lead was VIU's to cherish, but the job was far from done. A three early in the third quarter galvanized the Capilano crowd, but the Mariners held strong, despite Capilano outplaying them. The top defensive team in the country looked as such, cutting the lead to eight late in the quarter.
With one frame left, their once mighty lead had dwindled to only eight. Their midrange-centric offense proved ineffective against Capilano's mighty forwards, forcing them to resort to three-pointers.
The lead dwindled to six.
Then to three.
The Mariners were dead in the water.
Until they weren't.
VIU rekindled their offensive flame as a late three from Sarah Cook punctuated a VIU victory, securing tiebreaker over Capilano.
Sarah Cook was the only Mariner in double digits, scoring 15 points. Allison Bentley recorded five points and three steals in her first start of the season, while Kaia Simpson grabbed ten rebounds coming off the bench.
Capilano's main culprit was their poor shooting, especially in the first half. As a team, the Blues shot 9-53 from the field.
Yes, you read that right.
Most of their points came from the free throw line, where they shot 23-27. Alexa Kusel led the way for Capilano with 11 points. Lucia Lopez led the game with eight rebounds.
Saturday - VIU 63, Capilano 61
After Friday's affair, things couldn't get much uglier.
Capilano raced out to an early lead but the Mariners rediscovered their clutch gene in the second quarter to enter halftime up 41-34.
They lost it just as quickly, ceding the lead to Capilano in the third quarter before taking it back on a late layup from Mackenzie Cox.
Both teams traded shots for most of the fourth quarter, but the Mariners started to pull away at the end. Capilano never let them rest, always keeping it within a basket or less.
Two clutch free throws from Cox put the Mariners up by two with eighty-three seconds left, and they had a chance to ice it with eight seconds left, but Kiayra Hohlweg had a layup blocked by Barcha Hnizdilova. She passed it to Mia Parkin, who hoisted a shot at the buzzer that clanged off the front of the rim. Given that she shot with four seconds left, I'm confused as to why Capilano didn't try to force overtime or find a better shot.
Furthermore, with Okanagan's loss to CBC the day prior, the Mariners secured their nineteenth consecutive playoff berth; the longest active streak in the PACWEST dating back to the Bill McWhinnie era.
Trista Thorn posted her first double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and adding ten rebounds.
Barcha Hnizdilova led all players in points and rebounds with 18 and 11 respectively, also securing a double-double despite the loss. Maddy Coffin came one point shy of the achievement, scoring nine points to go with her ten boards.
The playoff-bound Mariners return home next week to face the Okanagan Coyotes in their penultimate home set of the season.
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