Early foul trouble can't stop T-Birds

11/25/2010 11:02:45 PM

VANCOUVER - Despite playing without their starting forwards for much of the first half, the UBC Thunderbirds moved above .500 for the first time this season with a 77-64 win over the Lethbridge Pronghorns on Thursday night at War Memorial Gym.

The Pronghorns put together a strong run late in the third to claw back into the game, but the T-Birds opened the fourth quarter with a run of their own to secure the win. After having her minutes limited by foul trouble early on, Alex Vieweg capped a 10-2 UBC run with back-to-back baskets to put her side up 68-50, and they never looked back.

"Offense wasn't a problem for us tonight because we were able to get good looks every time down the floor," said UBC head coach Deb Huband. "Sometimes we weren't very patient and settled for early shots, and we like to make a defence work harder than that, but offensively we are alright when we can get some stops."

Vieweg and Zara Huntley, the T-Birds' starting forwards, both found themselves in foul trouble early on, combining for just 12 minutes of playing time in the first half. Vieweg bounced back in a big way though, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Huntley also found her stride in the second half, chipping in 16 points and a game-high seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.

"Anytime you have to sit people because of fouls it disrupts your flow and your chemistry on the floor, so losing our starting forwards is not a situation we wanted to be in, but I think people came in and did a good job," said Huband.

Devan Lisson played a big role in keeping the T-Birds rolling without Vieweg and Huntley. She finished with 12 points and was 3-for-4 from three-point range. She also added five assists and had six of UBC's 14 steals in the game

After a rough second quarter put them in a big hole, the 'Horns came charging back in the third thanks to Becky Heninger. She scored eight of her team's 10 points on a 10-2 run that cut a 16-point UBC lead down to single digits, but the visitors couldn't keep the momentum going in the final quarter.

Heninger finished with 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Stephanie Inman and Kimberley Veldman had 12 points each. The Horns fall to 2-9 with the loss.

The T-Birds are now 6-5 on the year, and will look to extend their winning streak to four games heading into the semester break when they finish off their series with the Horns tomorrow at 6 p.m.

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