VICTORIA, B.C. – A last-gasp layup attempt by UBC rimmed out with four seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Victoria Vikes a 76-74 victory over the Thunderbirds in Canada West women's basketball action Thursday night at the CARSA Performance Gym in the provincial capital.
 
With the score 75-74 in favour of the Vikes, UBC guard Jessica Hanson got to the hoop and laid up a shot that hit the back rim and seemed to go halfway down the basket before rattling out.
 
The hosts made one of their two foul shots on their next possession to round out the scoring to improve to 15-4. UBC's six-game winning streak comes to an end, as the T-Birds fall to 10-9.
 
"I think it was a good rivalry game that went back and forth," remarked UBC head coach Deb Huband. "We had a strong first half but we faltered a little bit in the third quarter, and then with the game on the line, we just didn't defensive rebound very well. We had some good contributions and I think we're playing a stronger team game. It was a good challenge tonight that could have gone either way, and I look forward to getting after it tomorrow night."
 
With just 11 seconds left to play, Victoria's Kristy Gallagher scored the deciding points by collecting a rebound off her own miss and calmly sending the Vikes to their 11th-straight victory.


 
The largest advantage for either team on the night was just 10 points, as the teams jockeyed back-and-forth throughout the game, with the lead swapping hands eight different times.
 
Gallagher scored a game-high 25 points on the night, 20 of which came in the second half, and also added 10 rebounds for the double-double. Amira Giannattasio put in 21 points and three assists in the game while Calli McMillan rounded out the top-scorers for the home team with 11 points and two steals.
 
Maddison Penn led the way for the Thunderbirds, scoring 23 points and adding 11 rebounds. Keylyn Filewich (17), Ali Norris (10) and Hanson (10) also all hit double-digits in the game as the visitors hit 46 per cent of their shots on the night, almost 10 per cent better than the Vikes' 37. Hanson also tied a career high with seven assists.
 
The game was an extremely important on as teams across the Canada West conference continue to battle for playoff positioning in the final weekend of the regular season.
 
Victory for Victoria means that they improve their record to 15-4 and are currently in sole possession of third place in the conference standings. UBC is situated in a three-way tie for seventh.
 
It was a testy start to the game with both teams struggling to solve the other's defence. The Thunderbirds were able to find their groove first however, and scored 10 points in a three-minute span in the middle of the quarter to take the lead. The Vikes hit just four of their first 14 shots en route to shooting 28 per cent in the quarter, but were 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to trail by just four points after the opening frame.
 
Shots started to drop for both teams in the second quarter. After an 11-5 Vikes run to start the quarter, Gallagher hit a lay-up with 6:15 left in the half to give her team their first advantage of the game, 24-23. UBC found a response, however, and went on a run of their own. Buoyed by 55 per cent shooting in the frame, the visitors took a 42-35 lead into the halftime break.
 
Gallagher and Penn went toe-to-toe in the third quarter, putting up 13 and nine points respectively. It was the Thunderbirds who were in charge of the game at that point until McMillan nailed a jump shot at the buzzer to send the teams into the fourth quarter with the Vikes leading for the first time in the second half by a score of 59-57.
 
The Vikes held onto that lead for the first seven minutes of the final frame but the gap was never more eight points as the Thunderbirds hung tough on the road. Penn capped off a UBC push by sinking a free throw to give the T-Birds back to lead, 74-73 with just over a minute left to play. After both teams came up with clutch stops down the stretch, Gallagher was eventually able to score the game-winning bucket.
 
The second half of the rivalry showdown will take place tomorrow at Courtside inside War Memorial Gym. That game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. PT.