VANCOUVER - For the second night in a row the UBC Thunderbirds failed to hang on to a late fourth quarter lead against Victoria, as the Vikes completed the sweep with a 64-58 win on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
UBC led by nine at halftime, but a 28-point explosion by the Vikes in the third quarter changed that in a hurry. The T-Birds were able to clamp down on defence early in the fourth, eventually taking a 58-54 lead with just over two minutes left, but they couldn't buy a basket the rest of the way. After Debbie Yeboah tied things up at 58 with a minute left, reigning CIS MVP Kayla Dykstra went to work in the post, scoring the game-winning basket with 27 seconds left.
"The big factor in the game was how poorly we handled their pressure in the third quarter," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "We gave up 28 points in a quarter, which is ridiculous, and we showed very little composure on the court and made countless mistakes. It means taking responsibility for being composed and poised. We work on it every day in practice so why they let it get to them today, I don't know."
Victoria shot an incredible 73.3 per cent from the field in the third quarter, after being held to 28.6 per cent shooting in the first half. Yeboah and Kristen Hughes combined for 17 of Victoria's 28 points in the third.
The win puts the Vikes at 13-4 on the year, meaning they are guaranteed second place in the Pacific Division and home court advantage in the first round of playoffs. The T-Birds' 10-7 record puts them in third place, and they will cross over to play the second-seeded Prairie Division team in the first round of the playoffs. Top-ranked Simon Fraser will play the Prairie Division's fourth seed, and host the Canada West final four.
One bright spot for UBC on Saturday was the play of second-year guard
Arianne Duchesne. She came into the game averaging 3.9 points-per-game, but was UBC's second-highest scorer on the night with 15 points. She shot 7-for-8 from the field, with her only miss being a desperation three-ball with the shot clock expiring in the second quarter.
"She's had a bit of a tough go because she was hitting her stride and then had her nose broken in Calgary," said Huband. "She missed two weeks back-to-back and was a little rusty, so this was her reestablishing herself as a player and showing what she can do on the court."
Lia St. Pierre led UBC with 16 points.
Zara Huntley was tied for the game-high with 12 rebounds.
Yeboah led all scorers with 24 points, including six of Victoria's final eight points on the night. She also had five assists and six rebounds in a well-rounded effort. Dykstra had her minutes limited by early foul trouble, but still managed eight points and 12 rebounds.
The teams finish off their regular season schedule with single games next weekend. Victoria will host the unbeaten Simon Fraser Clan, while UBC will take on Trinity Western at War Memorial Gym. The T-Birds and Spartans tip off at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 13.
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