Files from U of A Sports Information
EDMONTON - The University of Alberta Pandas basketball team continued their undefeated start to the season by picking up a 76-73 victory over the UBC Thunderbirds, Friday night in the U of A's Main Gym in Edmonton.
Fourth-year Pandas forward Georgia Popovici led all players on the floor with 20 points, while junior guard Nicole Clarke added 18 points in just 20 minutes of game time. Rookie Saskia Van Ginhoven had 11 points, and Alberta also got 10 points from fifth-year guard Marisa Haylett, as the Pandas improved to 3-0 on the season.
The Thunderbirds, now 2-3, got 18 points from fifth-year guard
Devan Lisson, while
Lia St. Pierre added 13 points in the loss. Three other UBC players added double-digits point as well.
Although the teams were evenly matched for much of the game, Alberta did have an advantage at the foul line, taking twice as many shots than their visitors. The Pandas connected on 17 of 24 attempts from the stripe, led by Haylett's 4-4 effort, while UBC hit eight of just 10 shots from the line.
After an 'even-steven' opening 10 minutes that saw the teams tied at 19, the Pandas owned the second quarter, outscoring the Birds by nine-points to open up a 39-30 half-time lead.
Lisson was dangerous for the Thunderbirds from opening whistle to final horn, while St. Pierre and
Alex Vieweg had strong first halves as well.
Leigh Stansfield came on hard in the second half, eventually finishing with 12 points, while Vieweg and
Zara Huntley each added 10 points by game's end.
For the Pandas, it was a rotating group of players that did the damage.
Clarke, a member of the CIS all-rookie team two years ago, was a force for the Pandas off the bench tonight as the Calgary born player is still finding her way back to regular strength after sitting out most of the 2009-10 season with an injury. She proved to be very effective however as sub, giving the Pandas some serious scoring presence, leadership and ball handling abilities.
In her absence, Popovici certainly picked up the scoring slack, especially in the second half, while Van Ginhoven looked very strong in the post. The freshman finished everything shot she took under the glass, giving Alberta a big, scoring forward inside.
However, after half-time, it was UBC who came on strong, switching to a 2-3 defence, the Thunderbirds rattled the Pandas, and erased the nine point defence and generated a lead heading into the fourth.
Down by one, 56-55, the Pandas fought gamely back in the fourth, adapting to UBC's formation and over-powering the Birds for a 21-17 final quarter and the 76-73 win.
The two teams meet again Saturday night at 6:00 pm in Edmonton.
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