WBB: T-Birds Topple No. 2 Huskies
VANCOUVER --
Zara Huntley spearheaded a fourth quarter comeback for the UBC Thunderbirds, forcing overtime against the second-ranked Saskatchewan Huskies, and the 'Birds pulled off the upset in the extra frame, winning 68-65 on Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
Second-year forward
Leigh Stansfield went to the line for UBC with 21.2 seconds left in overtime and her side down 65-64. She is just over the .500 mark from the line in her CIS career, but she made no mistake with the game on the line, finding nothing but net on both attempts to give her side the lead.
Devan Lisson then pulled down a tough rebound off a missed Saskatchewan shot and hit both her free-throws with 10.9 seconds left, and the Huskies were unable to get a solid three-point attempt off before the buzzer.
The T-Birds trailed 46-42 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but a monster effort by Huntley kept the pressure on Saskatchewan and eventually allowed UBC to pull even. She hit two free-throws with two minutes remaining in the frame to bring the 'Birds level with the Huskies for the first time since the early first quarter, and had 12 of her team-high 18 points in the second half.
"We talked at halftime about needing to take it at them a little more one-on-one and make strong moves and Zara took that very literally," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "She went out there and made some very strong moves, got herself to the line, drew fouls and finished well in the paint."
Alex Vieweg's mid-range jumper put UBC up 57-55 with just over a minute to go in the fourth. Kim Tulloch went one-for-two from the line for the Huskies to cut the T-Bird lead to one, and
Lia St. Pierre did the same at the other end of the court for UBC to restore the two point lead but leave the door open for the Huskies to tie the game with 10 seconds left. Lindsay DeGroot drove to the hoop and drew a foul with 2.7 seconds on the clock and hit both her free-throws to send the game to overtime.
"I was disappointed that we didnt hold the lead in the fourth because I thought we made a few little mistakes that led to overtime, but I was very happy with how they gutted it out." Huband said.
In addition to leading her side with 18 points, Huntley also had four rebounds and a game-high three blocks, despite missing the overtime period after fouling out late in the fourth. St. Pierre had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
DeGroot led Saskatchewan with a game-high 20 points and eight rebounds.
After going up 14-13 late in the first quarter, the Huskies held the lead all the way through to the late fourth when Huntley's free-throws tied the game. They were up by as many as 11 points, but tough defence kept the T-Birds in the game. Neither team had many open looks for most of the contest, as the Huskies shot 40% from the field, while UBC posted a 34.3% mark.
"In the first half we played a little bit scattered and didnt really attack," said Huband. "We lost our aggressiveness and were tentative, and seemed a little bit frazzled. At halftime we talked about wanting to come out and attack and you really saw that in what Zara did in the second half, going right at people. We executed down the stretch and got quality opportunities for some kids and they stepped up."
It was UBC's second straight game against a ranked opponent, as they lost to the number one-ranked Simon Fraser Clan last week. Things won't get much easier for the 'Birds tomorrow either, as they will take on the tenth-ranked Alberta Pandas at War Memorial Gym, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Huskies have another tough matchup to look forward to as well, as they will visit the fifth-ranked Victoria Vikes tomorrow.
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