MONTREAL - A furious comeback by the UBC Thunderbirds came up just short in the final of the Concordia-Reebok Tournament in Montreal, as they lost to the host Concordia Stingers 68-66 on Friday.
Lia St. Pierre made a pair of free throws late in the fourth quarter to cap an 8-0 UBC run that tied the game at 66-66 but the Stingers went 2-for-4 from the line the rest of the way to earn the win.
Zara Huntley had a shot to tie the game but it wasn't good as time expired.
It was a back and forth affair early on, however, Concordia started to carve out a lead late in the second quarter before a St. Pierre three-pointer cut the Stingers lead to 32-29 at the break.
The hosts came out strong in the second half, opening the third quarter with an 8-2 run, pushing their lead to double digits. They extended their lead to as many as 16 in the third before UBC slowly chipped away, setting up the frantic finish.
Huntley,
Alex Vieweg, and
Arianne Duchesne all cracked double figures for the 'Birds as seven UBC players scored at least seven points in the loss.
It wasn't the offence that hurt UBC on Friday as they shot 48.0% from the floor compared to 35.9% for the Stingers but it was the 'Birds 29 turnovers and a 9-of-18 effort from the free throw line in the second half that came back to bite them in the close contest.
Kaylah Barrett, Anne-Marie Prophete, and Kendra Carrie all scored 15 points for the Stringers in the win.
The T-Birds return to league action next weekend on the road as they travel to Winnipeg to take on the Manitoba Bisons.
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