Women's Weekend Recap: Too Young To Die

There's no love lost between VIU and CBC. The last time the Bearcats made the trek to Nanaimo, it made national headlines. Will a similar story unfold this time?

Friday - VIU 68, CBC 55

This is the exact kind of game VIU needed coming out of the break.

Few things can galvanize a team like a rivalry match, and VIU pulled out all of the stops in front of a raucous home crowd. Though the Bearcats made it close at the end with a series of intentional fouls, VIU was able to hold on and win their sixth straight.

Better still for VIU, Langara's upset victory over Douglas earlier that day gave the Mariners two games of separation at the top of the PACWEST.

Sammy Shields led all scorers, accounting for 16 points while adding four steals. Kaia Simpson and Kiayra Hohlweg weren't far behind, dropping 13 and 12 respectively.

Kagari Tomita finished with a respectable 11 points, but VIU's stout defense limited her to an uncharacteristic 25% clip. Rather, Julie Dueck led CBC's offense with 13 points, also chipping in five rebounds and a steal.

Saturday - VIU 74, CBC 52

Just like in October, CBC looked to have the upper hand. An and-one layup from Kagari Tomita followed almost immediately by five straight points from AJ Sobotta put the Mariners in an early hole.

After that, the Mariners began as 21-8 run that spanned the rest of the quarter and never looked back. Though they nearly broke even in the second quarter, CBC had nothing left to give after the half. A combined twelve-point swing in the final two quarters gave VIU a secure, if tense, victory, clinching tiebreaker over the Bearcats and giving them crucial ground in the race for a first-round bye.

Six Mariners reached double figures: Sammy Shields, Kiayra Hohlweg, and Sarah Cook finished as the top three scorers with 16, 15, and 14 points respectively. Cook added eight rebounds, while Shields racked up four steals while coming one assist shy of a double-double.

AJ Sobotta put the Bearcats on her back, scoring ten points while playing over three quarters worth of minutes. Kagari Tomita and Kailyn Dieleman finished tied for second on the team with eight points.

The Mariners, winners of seven straight, have an early bye next week, then head back on the road for a set of games against Langara.