VANCOUVER – The Victoria Vikes came from behind on Sunday at Thunderbird Stadium, going 3-0 on the closing day of the UBC leg of the 2019 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, and claiming both the tournament and series titles in the process.

It is the second consecutive title for Victoria.

After taking out the Lethbridge Pronghorns 26-19 with a last-second try despite trailing by 19 at halftime, and overpowering the Alberta Pandas 36-5 in their second contest, the Vikes set up a winner-take-all showdown with the host UBC Thunderbirds, who had gone undefeated until that point, in the tournament's final match.

With the physical battle of a contest tied 5-5 and just over two minutes remaining, a darting run down the right flank by Brooke Bazian proved the difference for Victoria, as her score and her successful ensuing conversion put the Vikes out in front.  

It capped off an impressive performance by Bazian, who led the Vikes with four tries on the day.

The day's final contest put a damper on what was otherwise an excellent tournament for the host Thunderbirds, as they showed the ability to win close games in a 7-5 opener over the previously undefeated Calgary Dinos before shutting out the Fraser Valley Cascades 29-0.

Delaney Aikens had two tries for the Thunderbirds, who got offensive contributions from a variety of players ranging from veteran Nicole Mallow to rookie Kally King.

With the vast majority of the squad in either their first or second seasons, the strong showing bodes well for UBC moving down the line.

Calgary, the only team to beat Victoria in Vancouver this weekend, placed third in the final tournament of the season with a record of 4-1-1, and fourth in the overall standings with 26 points.

The Lethbridge Pronghorns went 3-2-1 in Vancouver, and placed third overall with 30 points.

Alberta placed fifth for the third tournament in a row – and was fifth in the overall standings with 18 points.

Fraser Valley earned sixth spot in both the Vancouver leg and in the overall series (12 points).

UBC Okanagan rounded out the field this weekend in sixth. The Heat also placed sixth for the season with four points.

UBC Thunderbirds 7, Calgary Dinos 5

Scoring summary:
UBC: 7-0: 7
CGY: 0-5: 5

• UBC try – #4 Delaney Aikens (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert) – 7-0

HALF

• CGY try – #12 Emma Newton (convert missed) – 7-5

 
Lethbridge Pronghorns 5, Calgary Dinos 5

Scoring summary:
LET: 5-0: 5
CGY: 0-5: 5

• LET try – #7 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 5-0

HALF

• CGY try – #14 Tianna Janfield (convert missed) – 5-5

Calgary Dinos 26, Fraser Valley Cascades 0

Scoring summary:
CGY: 7-19: 26
UFV: 0-0: 0

• CGY try – #7 Coralyn Cafaro (#21 Berlyn Seselja convert) – 7-0

HALF

• CGY try – #10 Alisa Illichova (#21 Berlyn Seselja convert) – 14-0
• CGY try – #8 Asia Franklin (convert missed) – 19-0
• CGY try – #8 Asia Franklin (#12 Emma Newton convert) – 26-0

Tournament standings – FINAL 
TEAM   WINS    LOSSES TIES      POINTS
VIC       5          1          0          21
UBC      5          1          0          21
CGY      4          1          1          19
LET       3          2          1          16
ALB      2          4          0          12
UFV      1          5          0          9
UBCO   0          6          0          6

NOTE: Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss.

Overall series standings
Team / Tourney 1 pts / Tourney 2 pts / Tourney 3 pts / Total pts

VIC – 10 / 15 / 15 / 40 pts
UBC – 15 / 12 / 12 / 39 pts
LET – 12 / 10 / 8 / 30 pts
CGY – 8 / 8 / 10 / 26 pts
ALB – 6 / 6 / 6 / 18 pts
UFV – 4 / 4 / 4 / 12 pts
UBCO – NA / 2 / 2 / 4 pts
REG – 2 / NA / NA / 2 pts
TRU – 1 / NA / NA / 1 pt