Through the weekend, the Mariners Women’s Basketball Team completed a clean sweep over CBC.
On Friday, February 7, and Saturday, February 8, the Mariners Women’s Basketball team hosted the Columbia Bible College (CBC) Bearcats for two games. Both were severely one-sided in favour of the hometown heroes.
The last time the Mariners met the Bearcats on the court was back in November, when CBC hosted VIU. The game ended with a score of 84-31 for the visiting Mariners team. Rookie Guard Aliza Dueck said that this time around, the team was expecting to win, but weren’t completely focused on the outcome of the games.
#3 Aliza Dueck. Photo Credit: Northfield Photography
“Our main goal was just to come in and prepare for nationals,” Dueck said.
The game on Friday night went well—to say the least—for the Mariners. Every player that suited up for the game logged some minutes, and scored the ball at least once. Dueck would go on to shoot 33 percent from the field, scoring 7 points, and recording one rebound, three assists, and two steals in her 15 minutes of action.
The Mariners collectively shot just over 50 percent from the field, 37 percent from beyond the arc, and they were perfect from the free throw line. They also won the rebounding battle, pulling down 47 boards in comparison to CBC’s 25. The Mariners racked up 37 assists and forced 32 turnovers, and the Mariners bench scored 52 of the team’s 105 points.
These statistics are especially significant to a team with half of its roster in their fourth or fifth year of their respective program.
Dueck on Defence. Photo Credit: Northfield Photography
“We really were focused on running our defence well,” Dueck said. “For offence, we really just wanted to move the ball well and get some good rotations going. We weren’t focused on the win. We were mainly just focusing on preparing and using that experience the best we could to help us prepare for the next games.”
Once the main rotation players had a chance to run their sets and set the tone for the game, the coaching staff was able to rotate in the rest of the roster for more experience. A similar approach was taken in the following game on Saturday.
At the 7:18 mark in the first quarter, Starting Guard Danielle Vanbergen would steal the ball and bury a three. The next two Mariner possessions would conclude with a Vanbergen three. In a two minute-span, Vanbergen would knock down three consecutive three-point shots as well as make a lay-up for 11 quick points to start the team’s lead.
The second game would end with a score 117-33 for the Mariners. Again, everyone who suited up for the game would go on to record minutes and points. Dueck, this game, would drop four for five of her own threes, totaling 12 points on the game. She would also record three rebounds, four assists, and her first personal foul of the season.
“We just wanted to keep running off of what we did on our Friday game,” Dueck said. “We knew it’d be tougher because it is hard to stay mentally focused in a game like that; where the score is such a big gap.”
Again, the Mariners would post up a plethora of impressive statistics. The team shot 58 percent from the field, 51 percent from three-point-land, and posted up 38 assists. The Mariners only turned the ball over four times, while they forced 31 on the Bearcats. This time around, the bench scored 61 of the team’s 117 points.
“From the first game to the second game, there was less nerves,” Dueck said. “I know from my perspective; I’m a first year and I don’t get very much playing time, so it is pretty nerve wracking to not know when you’re getting played. So I think in that second day, you definitely have more confidence. It was cool to see me and some of my friends gain that confidence.”
The Mariners Women’s Basketball Team are now riding a three game win streak, remaining at the top of the PACWEST standings with a record of 13-1. The Mariners have four games left of their regular season with a pair of games coming this weekend, Friday February 14 and Saturday February 15, at Langara.
“We feel confident, which is good, but we also know that anything can happen. So, we just have to go with our instincts and play like we always play and how we know we can,” Dueck said.
