VANCOUVER -- A gutsy effort from
Lia St. Pierre helped the UBC Thunderbirds overcome both the Trinity Western Spartans and the flu bug in their 74-52 victory on Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
St. Pierre was just one of several T-Birds who were under the weather for the regular season opener, according to UBC head coach
Deb Huband, but that didn't stop the second-year guard from turning in one of the best performances of her CIS career.
"If you want the definition of toughness you can just look at
Lia St. Pierre," said Huband.
After helping her team jump out to an 18-12 lead in the first quarter with four rebounds, three points and two assists already to her credit, St. Pierre looked noticeably ill and began motioning towards the UBC bench. She waited just long enough to chip in one more basket for her 'Birds before running to the bench mid-play to throw up.
"She was the story of the game for us," said Huband. "In the first two minutes she was the best player on the floor and then I was surprised when she needed to come off. She is only in her second year but she finished last year very strong and will have a really solid career, and we saw her seperate herself from the rest of the players on the court today."
St. Pierre returned to the game in the second quarter and continued to be one of UBC's top contributors on the night, finishing with 17 points, five assists and leading her team with eight rebounds.
The 'Birds led from start to finish on Friday, holding the Spartans at bay with a cushion that fluctuated between eight and 14 points for most of the game.
Trinity Western took advantage of a sluggish T-Bird start to the final quarter, pulling to within seven points of UBC early in the fourth when Amanda Knauff's basket made it a 54-47 game.
The 'Birds turned on the afterburners and pulled away quickly however, finishing the game on a 20-5 run.
"You could tell that we have a lot of flu and had a lot of people fighting lethargy and energy levels," said Huband. "In the second half we hit the wall physically and mentally and we really had to dig deep."
Alex Vieweg led the T-Birds with 18 points and was a big part of the UBC defensive effort with six steals. The T-Birds forced 37 Trinity Western turnovers in the game.
Leigh Stansfield and
Zara Huntley also hit double digits with 12 and 10 points respectively.
Lauren Doubroff paced the Spartans at both ends of the court, leading the team with 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.Holly Strom chipped in 14 points.
Both sides have a big test to look forward to next week as they will each be at Simon Fraser for a single game against the defending CIS champions. Trinity Western plays the Clan on November 6, and the T-Birds will do the same on November 7.
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