VANCOUVER – The saying "a game of two halves" applies perfectly to the action that unfolded Saturday afternoon inside War Memorial Gym, as the No. 8 seed Alberta Pandas (15-5) roared to life after the halftime break to defeat the No. 9 seed Victoria Vikes (9-11) and advance to the Canada West Quarterfinals.
 
After scoring just 23 points in the entire first half, the Edmonton outfit erupted for 25 in the third quarter, while ratcheting up their defensive intensity which served to discombobulate the Vancouver Island side.
 
"I just think it was the character and resiliency of an older group that didn't want their season to end," said Alberta head coach Scott Edwards on what changed in the third quarter. "I'm so proud of them – they've been through a ton this group, and they showed their mettle in the second half.
 
"We didn't make a lot of mistakes in the second half defensively. I thought we did a great job of keying in on some of the key components of their offence and taking that away."
 
McKinley Penninga led the way for the Pandas, scoring a career-high 16 points to go with five rebounds. Mishynn Miller recorded 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
 
Mimi Sigue double-doubled in her final career game for the Vikes with 11 points and 11 boards. Makena Anderson also scored 11 and hit three of her team's four three-pointers.
 
Victoria jumped out in front early, with an 11-2 run that gave them a double digit lead a little over midway through the first. The Pandas – while struggling offensively – continued to fight, and didn't let the upset-minded Vikes pull away too far.
 
The second quarter saw just 20 points combined as neither team could put a sustained run together. The lead hovered around 9-12 points or so for the entire quarter before the two teams entered halftime with a score of 32-23 in favour of UVic.
 
Momentum shifted early in the third, as the Pandas began to force a number of turnovers and got out in transition, led by Morgan Harris who ended the game with four assists and six steals. Just a few minutes into the fourth, not only had Alberta erased the halftime deficit, but they'd even built up an eight-point lead themselves.
 
The Vikes didn't go down easy, briefly regaining the lead at 55-54 following a Natalie Allison layup that capped a run of nine straight UVic points. But that would be their final bucket, as the Pandas outscored their opponents 10-0 in the final few minutes to secure the win.
 
Alberta will now face the No. 1 seed UBC Thunderbirds (16-4) on Sunday, in a rematch of last year's Canada West Semifinals.
 
"It's two completely different opponents," added Edwards. "They've done a great job this year the T-Birds, they're on fire in this second term and so we've got to take 10 minutes to celebrate this, and then get ready for the 'Birds tomorrow."
 
That quarterfinal matchup tips off at 2:00 p.m. (PT) in Vancouver tomorrow.