Harriette Mackenzie of the Comox Valley earned tournament MVP honours Saturday when the VIU Mariners women’s basketball team capped a remarkable season with a win at the Canadian collegiate championships in Hamilton, Ont.
The win served as redemption for many of the Mariners who lost in last year’s national final in Nanaimo.
This year, the team entered the tournament confident and peaking at the right time. They started off Wednesday with an 81-53 win over the host Mohawk College Mountaineers. Mackenzie put up 17 points and 21 rebounds in 21 minutes of play.
The second — and tougher — semi-final game was against Dawson College, whom VIU beat last year to reach the final. This game saw multiple lead changes and stingy defence with Dawson up 36-35 at half. A huge third quarter saw VIU take control, outscoring Dawson 20-9 in a game where baskets were hard to come by. Despite being double- and triple-teamed most of the game, Mackenzie scored 24 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks to earn player-of-the-game honours. She was 12 for 12 from the free throw line.
In the CCAA final, VIU faced the Geants de Saint-Jean, Quebec conference champions who had two convincing wins on the other side of the draw. VIU led 15-8 after one quarter but Saint-Jean stormed back to lead 33-31 at half. The Quebec side twice led by 11 points, but VIU dug in and came back to within six after three quarters. The Mariners hit big shots and clamped down on defence in the fourth, and won the game 60-54. Mackenzie had 17 points, 19 rebounds and five blocks, including two key rejections late in the fourth.
Along with national tourney MVP, Mackenzie was MVP of the PacWest provincial tournament won by VIU, was named a PacWest first all-star and player-of-the-year, and was a CCAA all-Canadian (fourth in scoring, first in rebounding and first in blocked shots).
This was VIU’s first national championship since 1998 when Tom Elwood — a mentor of Mackenzie’s who finished his teaching and coaching career at Mark Isfeld Secondary — coached the Malaspina Mariners.