VICTORIA - For the first time since 2004, the UVic Vikes women's basketball team will host a playoff series at McKinnon Gym, while the Calgary Dinos will head out on the road for the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The No. 6 Vikes sewed up the second seed in the Pacific Division after dispatching the No. 9 Dinos 65-52 on Friday night.
BOX SCORE
Kayla Dykstra scored 24 points and added 15 rebounds to lead the Vikes to their 12 win in their last 13 games. The victory seals the Vikes fate as a no. 2 seed for when the playoffs begin February 13th. The Vikes (14-6) will either host Trinity Western (11-10) or UBC (10-10), who both suffered losses Friday night.
Dykstra prevailed in the match-up of the league's top two scorers, shooting 10-15 for 24 points versus a 14-point effort from Calgary's Ashley Hill. Dykstra entered the weekend with a league-best average of 17.1 points, with Hill averaging 16.1.
Hill was almost a non-factor in the first half, being held to just two points as the Vikes opened a 37-22 lead.
With Hill finding her stroke in the second half, Calgary rebounded to cut the deficit to five points at the start of the final quarter. However, the Vikes defence permitted just seven points in the fourth with Calgary missing their last four field goal attempts to stave off the comeback bid.
Ashley Yee was the Vikes other scorer in double figures, contributing 11 points and also picking up six steals. Vanessa Fortsbauer flirted with a triple-double, finishing the night with nine points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
Ashley Ashman put up 12 points for the Dinos, while Courtney Coyle added six.
The Dinos, coached by Vikes alumna Shawnee Harle, have now dropped nine of their past 11 games. Their Pacific swing doesn't get any easier Saturday night when they will face the defending CIS champion UBC T-Birds. Calgary heads to Edmonton to face archrival Alberta to end the regular season next week in a likely preview of the Central Division semi-final series to be held one week later.
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