The VIU Mariners Open Nationals

The PACWEST champion VIU Mariners will open the CCAA basketball national championship on Wednesday afternoon when they meet the host Mohawk Mountaineers in Hamilton Ontario at 5:00pm PST.  WATCH HERE

The Mariners are no stranger to being the host in this very tournament. Last season they welcomed the nation to VIU where they would eventually finish with a national silver medal. The returning players have been motivated all season long by that bitter taste in their mouths as they got so close to winning it all last season.

They come into this tournament searching for their first national title since 1998 when they were the Malaspina Mariners. That season they defeated the Mount Royal Cougars from Calgary 66-41 to capture the gold.

In Wednesday’s quarterfinal the Mariners will battle with the Mountaineers for the first time in school history. They will have to deal with a relatively biased crowd who will be cheering hard for their squad.

The Mountaineers didn’t have a great season in the Ontario Conference missing the playoffs. They finished the regular season 5-11, but three of their five wins came in their last three games. They haven’t played a game since February 18th so they will be well rested.

Offensively they are not very strong averaging over 59 points game while coughing up over 67. They shot 32.3% from the field and 25.8% from downtown. Their top scorer; Rachel Guanzon averaged just over 10 points a game.

The Mariners will no doubt pound the ball side to All-Canadian Harriette Mackenzie who was dominate during the PACWEST championship tournament. They will also run and gun with veterans Ranika Guyton and CJ Buckley in the backcourt.

The winner moves onto Thursday’s semi-final.