Langley’s Wisotzki sisters shine at GNAC basketball opener

Langley’s Wisotzki sisters turned in impressive performances at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference basketball opener on Saturday, Dec. 3.

Jessica and Sophia combined to score 37 points but it wasn’t enough as SFU lost 69-60 to No. 12 ranked Western Washington in front of 530 fans in the West Gym.

NCAA Division II fourth leading scorer Jessica scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting to lead all scorers but it was her sister Sophia who turned heads Saturday, coming off the bench to score a career-high 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting in 29 minutes.

Sophia’s previous highest scoring game came in her second collegiate game over a year ago when she netted 14 points in a non-conference contest.

The sisters were a combined 5-of-10 on threes with Jessica going 4-of-6. She’s shooting at 70.8 per cent in five games. Sophia added three rebounds, four assists and three steals.

The Red Leafs were 7-of-14 on threes in the game.

READ ALSO: Sisters reunited: Walnut Grove Gator Sophia Wisotzki to play for SFU with sibling

The game was tied 11-11 after the first quarter. Western Washington led 30-23 at the half, and the Vikings led for all of the third quarter. But SFU surged in the fourth quarter, going on a 9-0 run to take the lead 59-58 on a Sophia Wisotzki layup with 3:40 to play in the game.

The nationally ranked Vikings took back control of the game from that point forward, closing on a 10-1 run. The Red Leafs were scoreless for the final three minutes of the game after Jessica Wisotzki scored 1-of-2 free throws at the 2:55 mark.

READ ALSO: Langley’s Jessica Wisotzki named GNAC women’s basketball player of the week

Sophia is a sharp-shooting guard and lock-down defender from the BC Quad A No. 2 ranked Walnut Grove Gators and her club team VK Basketball.

She is a two-time winner of the Most Outstanding Defensive Player award at the BC Provincial Championships, claiming the honour as a grade 9 and grade 10 student.

At the 2019 BC Provincial 3A Championships, Sophia was a second team all-star and Most Outstanding Defensive Player while Jessica was first team all-star. Walnut Grove lost in the championship final.

Jessica completed her freshman season in 2019-20 where she averaged 4.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40.2 per cent from the field in 13 minutes per game.