WINNIPEG – The Victoria Vikes – with four starters above six feet – used their length to their advantage, crashing the boards hard while scoring 38 points in the paint in a 77-42 win over Manitoba on Saturday night at IGAC.
 
The win improves their record to 4-8, and they sit in tenth place and a playoff spot based on RPI. Manitoba fell to 4-12, just outside of a playoff spot based on RPI.
 
The Vikes big three of Abigail Becker, Mimi Sigue and Tana Pankratz combined for 45 points and 33 of Victoria's 69 field goal attempts.
 
Pankratz finished with a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Makena Anderson added 11 boards and Becker and Sigue both had eight, as the visitors grabbed 70 rebounds and had 14 second chance points, compared to 37 rebounds and seven second chance points for the Bisons.
 
Manitoba got ten points from leading scorer Emily Johnson, while true freshman Anna Miko had nine points, two shy of her career high and she also grabbed five rebounds.
 
Victoria led 13-9 after one, breaking the game open in the second quarter, scoring 21 points compared to eight for Manitoba. They also shot 33 percent from three, and Manitoba was unable to match, going 0-for-5.
 
Lauren Bartlett scored all five of her points in the third for the Herd, including her trademark mid-range jumper, as Manitoba had flashes of brilliance, but a 37-12 total on the glass for the visitors made a difference.
 
The Herd were often one and done on offence, while UVic had 15 free throw attempts in the second half, compared to two for the Bisons.
 
Emily Mandamin was another bright spot for Manitoba, netting two of Manitoba's five threes in the third quarter. She finished the game with eight points, and her 44.4 percent efficiency from distance is third in Canada West.
 
Manitoba is on a bye this weekend, and will take on Winnipeg the following week in the annual Duckworth Challenge, a home and home that starts on the Thursday.