VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (11-10) dispatched the no.9 ranked Calgary Dinos (8-12) 79-61 Saturday evening at War Memorial Gym to move into a tie with TWU for third in the Pacific Division.
BOX SCORE
The T-Birds hold the tiebreak over the Spartans by virtue of their 2-1 advantage in the season series and hold all the cards heading into the final weekend of the regular season. A pair of victories by the 'Birds next weekend at home versus lowly TRU and UFV would give UBC third spot in the Pac-D and a first-round match-up with the Victoria Vikes.
Tonight's performance by the 'Birds was all about redemption after last night's disappointing 80-69 loss to the Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-15).
"We came with a lot of intensity tonight. No one was pleased with our performance last night and I think every individual tried to do something a little bit differently," said UBC head coach Deb Huband. "Some of the advantages we had last night were the same ones we had tonight but this game we were able to use our height and size to dominate the paint and execute the way we had planned."
The starting duo of 6-foot-2 Leanne Evans and 6-foot-2 Zara Huntley combined for 35 points and 23 rebounds. The T-Birds dominated Calgary down low, out scoring them 58-28 in the paint and hauling in 49 rebounds compared to just 29 for the shorter, perimeter oriented Dinos.
Evans was a monster on the glass, grabbing a team-high 17 boards, while Huntley topped a list of four scorers in double figures with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
Alex Vieweg, a 6-foot small forward, came off the bench the T-Birds tonight and had 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while rookie guad Lia St. Pierre continued her impressive play notching 11 points, nine boards (six on the offensive glass), seven assists, and four steals.
Ashley Hill and Megan Lang led the Dinos with 13 points apiece but the duo struggled from the field, shooting a combined 9-of-25.
Calgary finished the game just 20-of-58 from the field (34.5%) while UBC clipped along at a 53.2% rate (33-of-62).
The T-Birds took command of the contest early, racing out to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter. An even second frame saw the team enter the half with UBC leading 37-28.
The second half was more of the same, as the T-Birds won each of the final two quarters and the Dinos were unable to pull back any of the double digit deficit.
The victory moves the T-Birds to 8-2 in 2009 after the team stumbled out of the gate with a 3-8 record in the first half of the year.
"We are a young team and we are just trying to get better every day," said Huband. "Since January 1st, except for a little setback yesterday, we have been getting better with each and every game, and this win helps us end the weekend on a good note. We have one more weekend to keep on improving before its win or you're out."
UBC closes out their regular season at home against TRU (3-18) and UFV (4-17) on February 6 and 7.
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