VANCOUVER - After nearly upsetting the top ranked SFU Clan on the road last weekend, the UBC Thunderbirds will look to turn the trick for real this weekend at home as they welcome the no. 2 ranked Saskatchewan Huskies (2-0) and the no. 10 ranked Alberta Pandas (3-1) to War Memorial Gym.
The T-Birds just missed out on the CIS top 10 after their strong effort in a 67-59 loss to the Clan and they sit 11th in the country after opening their season with a commanding 74-52 win over the TWU Spartans way back on October 30.
A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds come into the weekend looking to get back above .500 but such a result will take a pair of strong performances against some very stout competition. The T-Birds rank just eighth in conference scoring with 66.5 points per game, however, they also allow the fourth fewest at just 59.5 per contest. UBC has been efficient on offence and rank behind just SFU and Saskatchewan with a 46.7% field goal shooting mark.
Alex Vieweg has led the offence in scoring both games and is averaging 16.5 points, 5.5 boards, and six steals per game. Second-year
Lia St. Pierre has been almost as good, averaging 14 points and 5.5 boards per game with posts
Zara Huntley and
Leigh Stansfield also in double figures with 10 points per game. As a squad the T-Birds have struggled from both three-point land (24.1%) and the free throw line (60.0%) and those are two areas they will need to improve if they want to beat the best teams in the country.
A look at the Huskies
Saskatchewan opened their season with a pair of dominating wins over Brandon, holding the Bobcats to 55 points or less while scoring more than 70 points per game. Lindsay DeGroot is the star on offence, averaging 19 points per game on 65.4% shooting while adding five boards and six steals per game. Kim Tulloch is also in double figures with 12.5 points, and a team-best 6.5 boards, while Jill Humbert is directing the offence with a team best four assists per game to go along with 9.5 points per contest.
A look at the Pandas
Alberta ranks third in the Canada West in both scoring offence (76.8) and scoring defence (59.0 allowed), however, after a red hot start to the season that saw them win their first three games by a combined 77 points, they slumped to a 64-58 loss in Winnipeg. Balance is the name of the game on offence for the Pandas as they have five players scoring more than 8.5 points per game. Leading this group is Maria Haylett at 14 points per game with Nicole Clarke just behind with 13.8 points per contest. Haylettt and Clarke have been deadly from the line this year and they are combined 34-of-39 from the charity stripe.
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