VANCOUVER - The no. 10 ranked UBC Thunderbirds (5-3) take on the bookends of the Prairie Division to begin 2010, as they host first-place and no. 3 ranked Regina (7-1) on Friday night, followed by last-place Brandon (1-9) on Saturday. Tip-off is 6:00 p.m. both evenings.
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A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds rode their strong defence to a 5-3 record in the first half of their season, as their 61.6 points-against average is third-best in the conference. In fact, UBC has yet to surrender more than 67 points in a game. The T-Birds' new years resolution may have been to start scoring more consistently, however, as the offence ranks just tenth in Canada West scoring.
Third-year forward
Zara Huntley anchors that offence with 14.6 points-per-game, and is also a key cog in the UBC defensive machine, as she is second in the conference with just under two blocks-per-game. She also leads the team on the glass with 7.4 rebounds-per-game.
Second-year guard
Lia St. Pierre is second on the team with 11.8 points-per-game.
Alex Vieweg checks in with 11.1 points and 6.8 rebounds-per-game.
Another bright spot for the 'Birds has been
Devan Lisson, who has come back from a serious knee injury late in her second year to lead the team in minutes played. She is averaging just over 30 minutes of court time per game, and her 8.5 points-per-game average is likely to rise in the second half of the season as her shots start to fall more consistently.
A look at the Cougars
The Cougars jumped out to a two-game lead in the Prairie Division after a 7-1 start to their season, with their only loss coming at the hands of defending CIS champion Simon Fraser.
Regina has the second-best scoring margin in the conference at +9.4, and the best rebounding margin by a mile at +12, with the closest team being Alberta at +5.4.
Brittany Read is leading the rebounding effort, averaging a conference-best 10 per game, with 6.5 of those coming on the offensive glass. She is also third in the conference in scoring with 17.8 points-per-game.
Joanna Zalesiak and Carmen Stewart are each averaging more than six boards in support of Read. Zalesiak is also chipping in offensively with 14 points and 4.9 assists-per-game.
A look at the Bobcats
The Bobcats lost their first eight games this season before finally getting the monkey off their backs against Thompson Rivers in their final week of action before the break. The Brandon offence ranks second-last in the conference with just over 60 points-per-game, and their scoring margin of -16.9 is the worst in Canada West. Part of their problem has been taking care ball, as the Bobcats have the second-worst turnover margin at -4.5, and an assist/turnover ratio of just 0.4.
The Bobcats are a surprisingly good rebounding team though, considering their record. Their rebounding margin of +5 is only 0.2 points behind Alberta for second-best in the conference. Nicisha Johnson is a big reason for that, as she is second in Canada West with 9.9 rebounds-per-game. She also leads the conference with 2.4 blocks-per-game.
Brandon is without a go-to player when it comes to scoring though. Jayla Bousquet is the only player averaging double-digits at 10.4 points-per-game. Johnson isn't far behind at 9.7, but the Bobcats need someone to step up offensively if they want to start climbing the Prairie Division standings.
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