Over the Edge - January 4, 2012 sports 11 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL RE-CHARGED Ath Quarter comeback keeps Lady T-Wolves undefeated PUNEET HAYER SPORTS EDITOR he first half of the PACWEST season ended with a bang for the UNBC women’s basket- ball team. The lady T-Wolves man- aged to stay undefeated by defeating the Camosun Chargers 62-59 this past Saturday Night at the Northern Sport Centre in one of the most entertaining games of the year. UNBC came off a thrilling 78-77 overtime victory on the road the prior week against Capi- lano. That experience would prove to be invaluable as the T-Wolves would be in another close game that would go down to the wire. However, the T- Wolves would be without their lead- ing scorer Jennifer Clyne for a second consecutive game due to injury. Consequently, a team effort was needed to make up for Clyne’s ab- sence for a second consecutive game. That is exactly what Coach Murdoch got from her squad. Ten players were active for this game regarding the Timberwolves, with a majority of them playing over 20 minutes. Specif- ically starting forward Mercedes Van- Koughnett continued her impressive production on her way to a second consecutive ‘player of the game’ VanKoughnett finished the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds honour. and 5 assists in 34 minutes of play- ing time. Like any star player, Van- Koughnett saved her best for the end of the game where her team needed her most. The T-Wolves trailed 45-39 going into the 4th quarter and did not hold a lead since the opening minutes of the game. That changed in the 4th quarter where the T-Wolves led by VankKoughnett outscored the Chargers 23-14 in the fourth quarter enroute to a flawless 6-0 record to start the PACWEST season. This game was controlled for the most part by Camosun’s high scor- ing backcourt of Caitlin Marshall and Aiija Salvador who scored 18 and 15 points respectively for the Chargers. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they kept UNBC in the game by not get- ting much secondary scoring from the rest of their starters. Furthermore, the Chargers missed 8 key free throws in the game. This resulted in a highly contested fourth quarter where the home crowd really started to get in- volved. The Timberwolves rallied in the fourth quarter by forcing 10 turnovers and scoring 10 second chance points. VanKoughnett and grit by diving for loose balls and showed leadership coming up with key rebounds dur- ing crunch time. Timberwolves point guard Jennifer Knibbs continued her strong play by limiting both Marshall and Salvadore in the fourth quarter, as exemplified by the Chargers only shooting 37% from the floor in the second half. Also, 6 different Timber- wolves scored in the 4th quarter as opposed to only 3 for the Chargers. Therefore, the Timberwolves were able to build off their earlier late game experiences to win another big game. Camosun had plenty of opportunities to win this game, but the pressure and poise of UNBC proved to be the dif- ference. Asa result, the Timberwolves had another pair of successful home victories and look more and more like a championship team each time they take the floor. The Timberwolves have not seen the last of the Chargers and will face a difficult schedule in the second half of the season. The old saying goes in the PACWEST ‘all teams improve in the second half’, and the T-Wolves are no exception. However, if the T- Wolves continue to get a well-round- ed effort from their entire team and can get healthy there will be reason for optimism for Coach Murdoch and company. iets comeback victory against Camosun. Free throws proved to be a big difference in the T-Wolves PUNEET HAYER MARINERS SAIL PAST T-WOLVES 84-77 VIU men defeat UNBC for the third consecutive time PUNEET HAYER SPORTS EDITOR he UNBC men’s basketball season suffered another set- back this past Friday Night. The T-Wolves lost to their biggest rival VIU 84-77 in front of a capacity crowd at the Northern Sport Center. This marks the third meeting in a row that the VIU Mariners got the better of the T-Wolves down the stretch. The Mariners defeated the T-Wolves in the Provincial final last year and continued to add to the team’s misery by handing them their first home loss of the year. This loss coupled with the team’s previous loss to Capilano, brings questions if the T-Wolves are still the class of the PACWEST. There has been much notoriety about the UNBC recruiting class this past season. However, on this night the VIU import recruits Brandon Jones and Richard Gant were the only recruited players that people seemed to notice. The duo from Portland Ore- gon combined for 34 points including 16 in the 4th quarter alone. Further- more, Jones controlled the floor for much of the second half as the Marin- ers were able to overcome a 5-point halftime deficit to outscore the T- Wolves 50-38 in the second half. Mariners returning point guard Jacob Thom was not outdone as he added 10 points, 4 assists and 3 steals. The Mariners took control of the game from tip off as they quickly jumped out to a 24-13 lead after the points. Plus, T-Wolves Center Kevan Madsen reinjured his left ankle, lim- iting him to only 7 minutes of floor time. Consequently, UNBC coach Todd Jordan reverted to a smaller lineup in the second quarter; a tactic that had worked before in the past The impressive play of Sam Raphael was not enough against VIU this past Friday night first quarter. During this point of the PUNEET HAYER against the Mariners. This approach game Thom and Jones took charge of | paid dividends in the short run as the floor by scoring 10 second chance the T-Wolves outscored VIU 26-10 in the second quarter. UNBC guards Francis Rowe and Sam Raphael led the way with team highs of 22 and 18 points respectively. A majority of this production came in the second quar- ter where Rowe started the second quarter in impressive fashion by scoring four consecutive off balance jump shots. In addition Sam Raphael continued his strong play by forcing 5 turnovers and scoring 8 points in the second quarter, which saw the T- Wolves, overcome the early surge of the Mariners and take a 5 point lead at halftime. Unfortunately for the T-Wolves, VIU head coach Tony Bryce was able to make many halftime adjustments to exploit UNBC’s smaller lineup. Addi- tionally, T-Wolves forward Dennis Stark suffered an injury that limited his effectiveness and playing time in the second half. The Mariners were able to take full advantage of this. The ball handling of Thom and Jones strongly countered UNBC’s full court press and allowed the VIU backcourt to find forwards Greg Gillies and Ri- chard Gant for many isolation plays and high percentage shots. The small- er UNBC lineup in the second half also allowed the Mariners to control the paint, as exemplified by their 10 offensive rebounds in the second half alone and an astounding slam dunk from Gant that occurred of a Jacob Thom missed field goal in the third quarter. Therefore, this smaller lineup for UNBC did not work on this night and the adjustments made by VIU in the second half were too much for them to overcome. As a result, this rare home loss leaves more questions than answers for the vere are the injuries to many of the UNBC starters? Did Coach Jordan use enough of his bench during this Timberwolves. How se- game? Are two early season losses too much to overcome this season? Does VIU have a psychological edge over the T-Wolves, having beaten them the last 3 times? These questions will likely be addressed in the second half of the season, when the T-Wolves may not be able to afford to lose any more games. This rivalry will continue on February 11th, this time in Nanaimo.