Two Wins to Kickoff 2022
Newcomer Ranika Guyton makes her mark as VIU defeats Capilano and Langara
After a month-and-a-half of delays, VIU women's basketball returned to the court for the first time in 2022--and returned to winning ways.
Californian newcomer Ranika Guyton made an impact in her first taste of PACWEST competition as the Mariners (10-0) defeated the Capilano Blues 72-50 and the Langara Falcons 84-49.
Entering each game off the bench, Guyton scored a game-high 15 points versus Capilano and a team-high 19 points versus Langara. She also added 12 rebounds and 7 assists over the two games and was dangerous every time she drove into the paint.
In the Saturday matchup versus Capilano (5-4), VIU slowly built up a lead in the first half before pulling ahead for good in the second half, outscoring the Blues 39-23 over the final two quarters. Fifth-year guard Amber Lease scored 10 of her 12 points from the foul line and forward Shayce Johnston grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds.
Guard Jenna Griffin led the Blues attack with 11 points.
Against Langara (2-8) on Sunday--a rescheduled game after a postponement from January 15--the Mariners never trailed and expanded their lead with another strong second half, outscoring the Falcons 46-24 across the third & fourth quarters. Ten Mariners got on the scoresheet, led by Guyton's 19 points along with 15 from Chloe Scaber and 11 from Kiara Johnston.
Shayce Johnston and Harriette Mackenzie tied for the team lead in rebounds with 10 each. This weekend also marked the debut for Mackenzie in PACWEST competition, and the 6'2" forward added 16 points across both games.
The Falcons offense was driven by guard Rachel Labrador, who finished with a game-high 23 points.
STATS HIGHLIGHTS
The Mariners were much more accurate from the field than the Blues; VIU's field goal percentage was 40.4% compared to 25.4% for Capilano.
Against Langara, the shooting stats were fairly even, but VIU had a large rebounding advantage (49-22) and committed only 14 turnovers; Langara turned the ball over 33 times.
UP NEXT
Back Overseas: the Mariners cross the Salish Sea and head to Kelowna for two games versus the Okanagan Coyotes (4-2): Friday, January 28 (6 PM) and Saturday, January 29 (12 PM). Games will be streamed online via PACWEST.LIVE.