This week: vs. Saskatchewan, Friday October 22 and Saturday October 23, 6:00 p.m., War Memorial Gym
Radio: CiTR 101.9FM, CiTR.ca
Webcast
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VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds get a stiff test in their season opening match-up with a visit from the reigning CIS bronze medalist Saskatchewan Huskies. Saturday's tilt is part of CIS women's basketball 'Shoot for the Cure' initiative in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. 'Think Pink' t-shirts and bracelets will be available all weekend with proceeds from their sales going to the CBCF.
A look at the Thunderbirds
Last year a young T-Birds squad managed to battle through consistency problems to carve out a playoff spot for themselves and ended up pushing Alberta to the limit in the divisional playoffs before missing out on the conference Final Four by a two-point margin in the deciding game of the series. While that may have been tough for a UBC program so familiar with being a powerhouse on the CIS women's basketball scene, it proved that the T-Birds' young guns had talent, and this year with almost the entire roster returning, they are looking to put that talent to good use in pursuit of a national tournament berth.
Guard
Lia St. Pierre was named a first-team Canada West All-Star last year, as she finished just behind post
Zara Huntley in the team scoring race with 13.2 points-per-game and was third with 4.1 rebounds-per-game. She also led the team in efficiency from the free-throw line and her .481 field goal percentage was tops among guards on the team. Huntley will be a pivotal player for the 'Birds too, as she led the team in scoring (13.7 points) and rebounding (7.4 boards) last year.
The team is still relatively young, with just two fifth-years and two fourth-years on the roster, making
Devan Lisson and
Virginia Watson's jobs that much more important. They are the two fifth-years on the team, and both could be poised for big years as they prepare for their final year of CIS competition. Lisson should be used to heavy responsibility by now, as she led the team in minutes last year and was a significant contributor in almost every area, finishing third in team scoring, assists and steals, and was second in three-point field goal percentage.
A look at the Huskies
Saskatchewan finished third in Canada West and at the CIS tournament last season, marking a strong end to the university career of CIS first-team All-Canadian Lindsay DeGroot. She finished second in conference scoring, fourth in rebounding and first in steals last year, leaving a pretty big hole for the Huskies to fill. Fortunately for Saskatchewan, almost all the other key players from the CIS bronze medal-winning squad will be back. Five fifth-years and three fourth-years will don Huskie green this year, giving them a surplus of experienced veteran players who know how to win in the regular season and the playoffs.
Kim Tulloch was second to DeGroot with 11.7 points-per-game last year and is also tied with Jana Spindler as the team's best returning rebounder, averaging 5.2 boards in 2009-10. She is the top three-point threat for Saskatchewan as well, making her a well-rounded contributor who could be tough to contain this year. Jill Humbert averaged 10 points-per-game and led the team with an average of 4.4 assists and 32 minutes of court time.
Spindler, Marci Kiselyk and Lauren Whyte round out the fifth-year ranks, and if that wasn't enough proven talent for the Huskies to play with, 2009-10 CIS Defensive Player of the Year Katie Miyazaki transferred from Simon Fraser to Saskatchewan this year. She also averaged just under 10 points-per-game, giving the Huskies another threat to put up big numbers at both ends of the court.
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