KAMLOOPS – Despite trailing for just eight minutes in the contest, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's basketball team found themselves on the wrong side of the score when it mattered most in a 78-75 loss to the UVic Vikes.
The game was one of the best all season for a young WolfPack squad that went toe-to-toe with the Vikes and held the lead for nearly 26 minutes of play. Offensively TRU scored the second-most points they have in a game all season, thanks in large part to knocking down a season-high 12 three-pointers as a team.
It was a complete team effort for the 'Pack with four different players scoring in the double-digits and seven scoring at least seven points.
Kyla Smith and
Anneke Cairnie both led the way with 13 points while
Elana Sireni and
Megan Rouault added 12 and 10 respectively. Both Cairnie and Rouault finished the night with double-doubles, Cairnie grabbed 13 rebounds to go along with her 13 points while Roualt snagged 14 boards alongside her 10 points.
On the flip side, three players combined to score 62 of the Vikes' 78 points. Calli McMillan scored 24, Ashlyn Day 21 and Tana Pankratz 17.
The WolfPack came out of the gates swinging, knocking down six of the nine three-pointers they attempted and scoring 28 points in the frame. Smith and
Priyanca Sundher both had eight points in the opening frame as the WolfPack led 28-21 after the first ten minutes of play.
A layup from
Kelsey Cruz to make the score 35-24 halway through the second quarter gave the WolfPack their first double-digit lead of the night. That lead held steady through the rest of the frame as TRU hit ten three-pointers in the half to lead 47-35 through 20 minutes of action. The 47 points scored by the WolfPack in the half was more than they had scored in four entire games previously this season.
The Vikes nibbled away at the WolfPack lead in the third quarter, but the hosts still led by seven before their offence went cold in the final frame.
With the WolfPack scoring just nine points in the fourth, the Vikes were able to claw their way back into the match and tie things up thanks to a 7-0 run. UVic took their first lead since the first quarter with six minutes left to play and were able to increase their advantage to 77-72 with one minute left on the clock before the 'Pack fought back. Cairnie knocked down a clutch three-pointer and the WolfPack had a couple shots to tie the game but were unable to find the all-important shot when they needed it the most.
The 'Pack will remain at home and get ready for a rare Thursday night match coming up when they will host the Fraser Valley Cascades on Feb. 3 inside the TCC.
