VANCOUVER - Reigning CIS Player of the Year Kayla Dykstra had a dominating performance for the no. 7 ranked Victoria Vikes (12-4) as they held on for a 72-71 victory over the no. 9 UBC Thunderbirds (10-6) at War Memorial Gym on Friday night.
Dykstra filled up the scoresheet with 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and two steals in 39 minutes of action but it was reserve guard Jane Anholt that hit the biggest shot of the night for the visiting Vikes.
With the host T-Birds leading 69-68 late in the fourth quarter, Anholt worked a give and go with Dykstra down low and converted a sky lay-in over a T-Bird defender to give Victoria the lead for good with 31 seconds left.
Anholt played just four minutes in the game but was forced into duty when Vanessa Frostbauer fouled out late in the fourth. She only took one shot but it was enough to propel Victoria to the hard fought win and a two-game lead in the race for second in the Pacific Division.
Debbie Yeoh finished with 15 points for the visitors and made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left to put Victoria up three.
Alex Vieweg responded with lay-up to pull the T-Birds within one with 2.3 seconds left but on the Vikes ensuing inbound, the T-Birds didn't foul and Victoria held on for the one point win.
Vieweg led all T-Birds with 21 points on 10-of-16 shooting with
Lia St. Pierre chipping in 14 points. Fifth-year guard
Candace Morisset added a game-high nine assists, UBC had 24 helpers compared to just 15 for Victoria, but it didn't matter as for the most part it was a one woman show for the visitors.
Dykstra dominated the paint all game, making good on 11-of-14 field goals, and her nine offensive boards gave the Vikes invaluable extra possessions.
Victoria was also an impressive 15-of-18 from the line, UBC only had three free throws, which kept the Vikes level for most of the game despite giving up five more field goals in the contest.
"The game went back and forth tonight. We would take a lead and they would surge and bring it level again," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband.
Dykstra played every minute of the first half and was hard to stop, notching 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting and six boards as the Vikes out scored UBC 22-14 in the paint.
The T-Birds were able to survive the reigning CIS MVP's big half by taking advantage of Victoria mistakes, out scoring the visitors 14-2 in points off turnovers, and getting a notable first half performance from St. Pierre.
The second-year guard was almost as good for the T-Birds as Dykstra was for the Vikes, netting 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in 11 minutes before sitting for most of the second quarter on two fouls.
The Vikes jumped out to a 6-0 lead on three straight Dykstra buckets, however, the 'Birds quickly leveled the score and a St. Pierre three-pointer put UBC up 11-8 with four minutes left in the first quarter.
A Dykstra jumper made it 19-18 UBC just before time expired in the first quarter, and except for a small UBC run that put them up five early in the second, the game was an evenly matched affair and went into the break 40-39 for UBC.
The T-Birds opened the second half on a 9-1 run and led 49-40 with seven and a half minutes left in the third quarter. The Vikes clamped down on defence, and went on a 15-6 run to close the frame to draw the game level 55-55 heading into the fourth.
Victoria holds a two-game buffer over UBC for second spot in the Pac-D and a home date in the CW quarterfinals. The Vikes can clinch second in the division Saturday with another win as the two teams meet again at War Memorial (6:00 p.m.). A victory for the T-Birds, however, could stretch the battle for second into the final game of the regular season next weekend.
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