ABBOTSFORD – Heading into the Canada West post-season tournament, the Alberta Pandas knew they had a U SPORTS Final 8 national championship berth in their back pocket, by virtue of their status as hosts.

But rather than being content with sneaking in through the back door, the Pandas have reeled off three straight playoff wins at the UFV Athletic Centre to earn a spot in the Canada West final – a performance which would have punched their ticket to nationals, had their ticket not already been delivered pre-punched.

Alberta's proud defence of its 2023 CW title continued Saturday afternoon with a 68-49 victory over the upstart Victoria Vikes. 

The Pandas advance to the conference title game on Sunday (3 p.m., CanadaWest.tv) vs. the winner of Saturday's second semifinal between the tourney host UFV Cascades and the Saskatchewan Huskies. The Vikes, meanwhile, will play for bronze vs. the UFV-Sask loser (1 p.m., CanadaWest.tv). 

"That was one of our goals at the beginning of the season – we wanted to qualify for nationals and not have to use that host spot," enthused Claire Signatovich, the Pandas' fourth-year standout forward. "That was really, really important to us.

"Defensively is how we want to get our energy. Get a stop and run, is how we were trying to play. That's how we've been playing all year, and we did that again today. Team defence is really important to us."

Indeed, after a slow start, that formula paid off handsomely for the Pandas.

In the early going, Vikes third-year guard Tana Pankratz was cooking – the hometown Abbotsford product scored seven quick points to spark her team to a 12-4 lead. The Pandas found some traction late in the frame, though, and forward Reece Hall – who hit just four three-pointers through the entire regular season – drained a buzzer-beating triple to draw the Pandas back to within 15-14.

With their halfcourt offence seemingly stuck in neutral, Alberta got their transition game revved up during a dominant second quarter. Airtight defence led to fast-break offence during a decisive 10-minute stretch that saw the Pandas outscore to Vikes 19-4. 

Making matters worse for UVic, Mimi Sigue, the late-game hero in the Vikes' 66-63 win over UBC in Thursday's quarter-finals, picked up her third foul with 2:33 left in the second quarter. And for the second straight frame, the Pandas benefitted from a buzzer-beater – this one off the fingertips of Morgan Harris from well beyond the arc to stake her squad to a 33-19 advantage.

The Pandas drained much of the suspense from the proceedings in the third quarter, opening on a 7-1 run to stretch the lead to 40-20, and they would lead by as many as 26 in the fourth en route to victory.

Signatovich, the two-time CW defensive player of the year, was the best player on the floor – her 22 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks were all game-high totals, and she added three steals for the winners.

Hall (12 points) and Jadyn Tanner (nine points) also chipped in offensively for Alberta, and Jenna Harpe spearheaded the perimeter defence with six steals.

Pankratz, with 12 points, was UVic's lone double-digit scorer. Makena Anderson contributed seven points and six boards, and Abigail Becker hauled down 11 rebounds for the Vikes, who struggled in the turnover department with 27 to the Pandas' 12. 

With Alberta in the gold medal game, there is a guaranteed nationals berth available for the bronze medalist, so the Vikes have plenty to play for on Sunday.