ABBOTSFORD – Following a perfect day one at the second stop of the Canada West sevens series, the Lethbridge Pronghorns ran into a road block on Sunday, losing all three games and finishing fourth at the event hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley.
The Pronghorns finished second at the first stop in Edmonton but now slide to third in the overall standings with one event to go.
"We had a tough day two out here in Abbotsford," said Pronghorn associate head coach Ashley Steacy. "We battled hard in our first two games but a mixture of small mistakes and giving up possession saw us constantly trying to play catch up."
"We fought back against a tough Victoria team who scored three early tries and can within a point. We were super proud of the girls and their effort in the last game, we really came together as a team and played the style of attack and defense we've been working on."
Day two opened with a tough 19-10 loss to the Calgary Dinos, with Hailey Driscoll scored both tries.
In the day's second game, the Pronghorns suffered a 27-5 loss to the Alberta Pandas. The Pandas jumped put to a 27-0 lead before Hannah Lopez scored the Pronghorns lone try.
The Pronghorns wrapped up the Fraser Valley stop with a close 21-19 loss to the Victoria Vikes. The Vikes finished undefeated for the second straight tournament and hold a stranglehold on the overall standings.
After the Vikes scored three early tries and jumped out to a 21-0 lead, the Pronghorns scored the games final 19 points, coming just one convert shy of tying the game. Carolyn Mckee, Abby Neudorf and Hannah Lopez scored tries, while Lopez and Caitlin Sears each kicked a convert each.
The third and final stop on the Canada West sevens series will be hosted by Victoria in two weeks, where an overall champion will be crowned.
Game 13: Calgary Dinos 19, Lethbridge Pronghorns 10
Scoring summary:
CGY: 7-12: 19
LET: 10-0: 10
• LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 5-0
• CGY try – #8 Breanne Morgan (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 7-5
• LET try – #2 Hailey Driscoll (convert missed) – 10-7
Half
• CGY try – #13 Vanessa Graham (#6 Laura Petrillo convert) – 14-10
• CGY try – #9 Taejah Thompson (convert missed) – 19-10
Game 16: Alberta Pandas 27, Lethbridge Pronghorns 5
Scoring summary:
ALB: 17-10: 27
LET: 0-5: 5
• ALB try – #5 Courtney Holtkamp (convert missed) – 5-0
• ALB try – #5 Courtney Holtkamp (convert missed) – 10-0
• ALB try – #15 Heidi Peake (#5 Courtney Holtkamp convert) – 17-0
Half
• ALB try – #14 Heidi Farley (convert missed) – 22-0
• ALB try – #5 Courtney Holtkamp (convert missed) – 27-0
• LET try – #5 Hannah Lopez (convert missed) – 27-5
Game 21: Victoria Vikes 21, Lethbridge Pronghorns 19
Scoring summary:
VIC: 21-0: 21
LET: 0-19: 19
• VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 7-0
• VIC try – #2 Gurpreet Dhaliwal (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 14-0
• VIC try – #5 Emily Belchos (#9 Kara Galbraith convert) – 21-0
Half
• LET try – #3 Carolyn McKee (#4 Caitlin Sears convert) – 21-7
• LET try – #9 Abby Neudorf (convert missed) – 21-12
• LET try – #5 Hannah Lopez (#5 Hanna Lopez convert) – 21-19
Tournament standings – Final
TEAM WINS LOSSES TIES POINTS
VIC 6 0 0 24
CGY 4 2 0 18
ALB 4 2 0 18
LET 3 3 0 15
UBC 3 3 0 15
UFV 1 5 0 9
TRU 0 6 0 6
NOTE: Teams are awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw, and one point for a loss. Ties are broken based on head-to-head records.
Overall series standings
Team / Tourney 1 pts / Tourney 2 pts / Total pts
VIC – 10 / 10 / 20 pts
CGY – 6 / 8 / 14 pts
LET – 8 / 4 / 12 pts
ALB – 2 / 6 / 8 pts
UBC – 4 / 2 / 6 pts
UFV – 1 / 1 / 2 pts
TRU – NA / 0 / 0 pts
About the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series
2018 marks the second season of the Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series, which has been made possible thanks to Canada West's partnership with B2ten and Rugby Canada.
Through their joint support, which will include scholarship opportunities for players at all six competing institutions, B2ten and Rugby Canada are committed to helping Canadian female athletes pursue their athletic careers, including an opportunity to progress to the national team.
The Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series champion will be crowned Feb. 25 at the University of Victoria, as determined by cumulative series points.
2018 Canada West Women's Rugby Sevens Series tournament dates: University of Alberta (Jan. 20-21), University of the Fraser Valley (Feb. 10-11) and University of Victoria (Feb. 24-25).
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