Women’s basketball loses to VIU
By Courtnie Martin, Sports Reporter
For their first game of a month-long stint away from home, the women’s basketball team was matched up against the undefeated Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners on January 24. The underdog Royals were on fire in the first quarter, though—taking it 18-14 while controlling the boards and the pace of the game.
The pressure of being in the lead crept up on Douglas early into the second quarter as both Jettie McLaughlin and Adelia Paul got into foul trouble with three apiece; this deterred the sub arrangements coach Courtney Gerwing had initially planned. VIU promptly took advantage of the team’s situation and put up 24 points in the quarter.
The third quarter was much like the second, with Douglas struggling to break the VIU zone. Douglas fought back in the fourth, trading baskets with the hosts, but it was not enough to come back from the 20-point deficit. VIU took home the “W” 77-57.
“The second quarter really hurt us. We forced our own turnovers and the veteran team had no problems capitalizing on our mistakes. We also [had] a few of our players in foul trouble early; this brought down the momentum a bit,” said Lauren Sollero.
“We came out strong, but had a tough time guarding two of the top scorers in the league. [We] were a bit careless with the ball offensively, and that ended up hurting us. You have to have a very solid 40 minutes to compete with a team like VIU and we didn’t do that tonight,” said coach Gerwing.
