Mariners Meet Mountaineers

VIU Mariners vs. Mohawk Mountaineers – Wednesday March 12, 9:00am PST | QUARTERFINAL

The PACWEST champion Mariners meet the Ontario champion Mohawk College Mountaineers on Wednesday morning to open the CCAA national championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

It’s been two weeks since the Mariners played a game and will need to shake off the early rust against the Ontario champs while also dealing with a four-hour time change. During the regular season the Mariners shot 37.6% and scored over 76 points a game and only allowed 48.4.  Their defence was stifling holding teams to just 27% from the field while forcing almost 22 turnovers a game.   They are led by Harriette Mackenzie, named a CCAA All-Canadian for the second time.  She averaged 17.9 points and over 10 rebounds a game, altering how the Mariners opponents try to attack.

The Mountaineers are the OCAA champs for the first time since 1991 after beating the Humber Hawks in the Conference title game by a margin of four points despite a depleted roster due to injury.  During the regular season they finished 11-5 averaging 67.1 points per game.  They shot 40.4% from the field and 27% from the three-point line, led by Angong Jacob who scored 16.4 points a game and OCAA tournament MVP Kendra Oliver who averaged over 13.

The winner of this game advances to the semi-final on Thursday.