Playoff Preview: Taking on the Tommies
The CCAA national championship starts with a tough match against the Atlantic champs from St. Thomas
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
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7 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 41 |
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5 | 17 | 21 | 13 | 56 |
Team Stats
St. Thomas
| Game Statistics | St. Thomas | VIU |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (14-60) | (22-68) |
| Field Goal % | 23.3% | 32.4% |
| Rebounds | 46 | 51 |
| Assists | 8 | 11 |
| Turnovers | 23 | 18 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 9 | 23 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 8 | 12 |
| Pts in the Paint | 10 | 26 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 9 | 33 |
MONTREAL, QC - The Mariners are back at the CCAA Women's Basketball National Championship a year removed from their 5th/6th place finish at the 2025 national championship in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It is that host team--the St. Thomas Tommies--that the Mariners were drawn against in this year's quarterfinal round to open the tournament.
Who, When & Where
- CCAA National Championship Quarterfinal: PACWEST champion VIU Mariners (21-3 season, 2-0 playoffs, CCAA ranked #3) vs ACAA Champion St. Thomas Tommies (17-1 regular season, 2-0 playoffs, CCAA ranked #5)
- Wednesday, March 18, at 1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific, Tony Proudfoot Gymnasium, Montreal, QC (Dawson College)
- Visit the Tournament Website for more details
Tune In
CCAA tournament games are streamed live via a pay-per-view service, CCAA Live.
How We Got Here
As the PACWEST's top team in the regular season, VIU earned a bye to the PACWEST conference semifinals. The Mariners defeated the reigning CCAA champion CBC Bearcats 70-59 to qualify for the PACWEST championship game. This also gave the Mariners a spot at the national championship as the PACWEST had earned a wildcard berth, meaning the conference champion and runner-up would both qualify.
VIU won the PACWEST final in dominating fashion, holding the Douglas Royals to only 6 points in the first half on the way to a 63-41 win.
A year after finishing 7th as the host at the CCAA national championship, the Tommies had an outstanding season. St. Thomas lost their first game of the season but rattled off 17 straight wins to sit atop the ACAA conference.
St. Thomas also earned a bye to their conference semifinal and looked strong in their two postseason victories: 61-48 over University of New Brunswick-Saint John and 63-46 over Mount Saint Vincent University.
Watch Out Now
STU: The Tommies boast the ACAA Women's Basketball Player of the Year, Charlee Connors, and the Women's Basketball Coach of the Year, Fred Connors. Paige LeBlanc, Claudia Steeves, and Katie Vidito were named second team conference all-stars.
VIU: Head coach Tony Bryce was named PACWEST coach of the year in his final season behind the VIU bench and Kiayra Hohlweg was named a conference first team all-star. At the PACWEST championship, point guard Mackenzie Cox was named MVP while Trista Thorn and Kaia Simpson earned tournament all-star awards.
The Stakes
The winner moves on to the CCAA semifinal on March 19 at 6 pm Eastern / 3 pm Pacific against winner of the NAIT Ooks vs Géants de Saint-Jean quarterfinal. The losers of those two games will move to the bronze side of the bracket and will play on March 19 at 1 pm Eastern / 10 am Pacific.
For more information, please contact VIU Mariners Communications & Sports Information Coordinator Matt Carter.