VANCOUVER - Despite a strong showing from behind the three-point line, the UBC Thunderbirds couldn't hit their stride on offence against Winnipeg on Saturday, as the Wesmen completed the sweep with a 57-50 win at War Memorial Gym.
While it was their defence that cost them Friday's game, UBC's offensive woes were to blame on Saturday. The T-Birds' defence and three-point shooters kept them in the game until the end, but UBC shot just 29.8 per cent from the field which wasn't enough to bother the undefeated Wesmen.
"You have to win games to build confidence and obviously we have taken some lumps," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "We have to find that confidence and believe in ourselves to give ourselves the chance to come out and win every night."
The 'Birds hit four of their eight three-pointers in the fourth quarter to make things interesting down the stretch. They trailed by double digits to begin the fourth, but drew to within five points of the visitors late in the quarter after rookie
Kris Young's second three-ball of the game. UBC was 42.1 per cent from three-point range, and hit eight three-pointers compared to just nine two-point field goals in the game.
The Wesmen's efficiency on the free throw line was the difference though. They also struggled from the field, shooting just over 30 per cent, but hit 15 of 16 free throws of the night, and went 10-for-10 in the fourth to prevent the T-Birds from catching up.
"If the energy and focus are there and you pay attention to details, good things will happen," said Huband. "We just had too many mental breakdowns and collectively they were too much to overcome."
Winnipeg's Caitlin Gooch tied Alex MacIver for the game-high in scoring with 16 points. Amy Ogidan chipped in seven points while leading all rebounders with 10 boards.
Alex Vieweg had 14 points and seven rebounds for UBC.
Devan Lisson was next with 12 points, nine of which came via the three-point shot.
UBC falls to 3-5 on the year, but the 'Birds have two more weeks at home to look forward to before their next road trip. Next weekend, they take on the 2-4 Fraser Valley Cascades on November 19 and 20 at War Memorial Gym, with both games tipping off at 6 p.m. The Wesmen are still perfect at 5-0 on the year, and will be on the road against Saskatchewan next week.
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