Above: Mariners Guard Chanece Curtis leads the play. By Cole Schisler.
By Sports and Lifestyle Editor Cole Schisler
On Friday November 4, the VIU Mariners took on the Douglas Royals in a close contest.
Both teams came out strong defensively. The Royals relied on a few key players to make their shots, while the Mariners were varied in their shooting. The Mariners’ Emily Clarke came out with some impressive shots early on, and landed some big three pointers. The Royals led 18–15 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Royals created many turnovers, and used them to keep the ball on the Mariners’ end of the court. The Royals took 61 shots in the first half, compared to the Mariners’ 39 shots. But, while the Royals shot more, they hit less. The Mariners connected with 42.9 percent of their field goals, 57 percent of their three-pointers, and 50 percent of their free throws, compared to 32.5 percent, 26.7 percent, and 66.7 percent for the Royals. With their greater accuracy, the Mariners trailed the Royals by only four points at the half, the score 34–30.
In the second half, the Royals managed to mostly shut down the Mariners offense. They ended the third quarter with only seven points, whereas the Royals scored 14 points. As in the first half, the Royals made the most of their rebounds and capitalize on turnovers.
In the fourth, the Mariners turned up the heat and sliced the Royals lead to 52–47 with four-minutes left to play in the match. The Royals held their composure and landed a series of shots to keep the Mariners down, ending the match 59–52 over the Mariners.
“The effort was really good,” Coach Franjo Crankovic said. “The girls didn’t give up. They made some mistakes, but they learned from them. The team played well today.”
Mariners Guard Emily Clarke sinks a free throw. By Cole Schisler.
Overall, the Mariners took 81 shots, compared to 120 shots for the Royals. While the Mariners were more accurate than the Royals in almost every category, the Mariners failed to capitalize on rebounds, which ultimately led to their loss.
“Every day we focus on getting better than yesterday and that’s all I expect from the women,” Crankovic said.
On Saturday November 5, the Capilano Blues came to town to test the Mariners after their defeat against Douglas.
The Blues opened the scoring early and benefited from high accuracy, hitting over 50 percent of their shots in the first quarter. At the end of the first, the Blues led 27–10 over the Mariners.
The story was much the same in the second quarter, as the Blues led 45–22 going in to the half. The Mariners were 16/51 in shooting for the first half, whereas the Blues shot 27/44. The Mariners had 20.7 percent on their field goals, 20 percent on their three-pointers, and 66.7 percent on their free throws. Mariners forward Sienna Pollard led the Mariners in scoring going in to the second half with eight points.
In the third quarter, the Blues were dominant. They ended the quarter with a lead of 60–26, the widest lead of the match. The Mariners fought back in the fourth quarter, they controlled the pace, were aggressive on their rebounds and put up 14 points in the quarter, but were unable to overcome the wide lead of the Blues. The Blues won 69–40.
The Mariners finished the match shooting 27/95 total, and the Blues shot 41/111 total. The Mariners improved on their ability to recover rebounds, with 44 total rebounds to Capilano’s 49 rebounds. It was the Mariner’s accuracy that told the tale of this match.
The Mariners will travel to take on the Columbia Bible College Bearcats on November 18, and their next home game is January 6 against the Quest Kermodes.
Cole is a second-year Bachelor of Arts student majoring in creative writing, minoring in political science. He has an interest in all things exciting, mundane, or otherwise. He hopes to one day become an author, actor, comedian, editor, and rapper, while moonlighting as an astronaut.
