VANCOUVER - The No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team travels to southern Alberta this weekend for its first road trip of the 2011-12 regular season.
GAME TIMES
Fri., Nov. 25- No. 2 UBC at Lethbridge (5:00 p.m.)
Sat., Nov. 26 - No. 2 UBC at Calgary (5:00 p.m.)
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds
2011 conference record: 3-1 (1st, West)
2011 CIS ranking: 2
Last week: beat Trinity Western 76-64, 66-61
Streak: 2 wins
The T-Birds' sweep over Trinity Western last weekend was probably more difficult than they wanted it to be, but UBC's 14-point fourth quarter comeback in game two should serve as important experience for a team that fancies itself a national title contender.
The T-Birds showed incredible poise and defensive toughness in their comeback, and sophomore shooting guard
Kris Young continued to build on what has already been an impressive start to her season. She poured in 24 points to lead UBC to the win, and is currently third in the conference with 17.3 points per game.
Senior forward
Alex Vieweg's efforts can't be overlooked either. She needed just nine field goal attempts to drop 20 points in the comeback win, and picked up 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. She sits ninth in conference scoring with just under 15 points per game, and her 8.3 rebounds have her third in that category.
If there's one thing UBC needs to worry about, it is secondary scoring. Point guard Kris Huges chipped in 12 points to the comeback effort, but T-Birds not named Vieweg, Young or Hughes combined for just 10 points that game. In game one against Trinity Western, UBC's bench contributed just three points. The bench also struggled against top-ranked Regina in week one, so a more well-rounded effort by the lineup this week is likely on coach
Deb Huband's holiday wish list.
Lethbridge Pronghorns
2011 conference record: 2-4 (7th, East Division)
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: lost to Saskatchewan 62-55, 81-59
Streak: 2 losses
The Pronghorns are 0-4 on the road this year but 2-0 at home against Western Division opponents. UBC and Victoria are a combined 7-3 though, and should provide a much tougher test than the combined 2-8 Thompson Rivers and UBCO did two weeks ago in Lethbridge.
The Horns have yet to see a top scoring threat emerge from their roster. Kim Veldman, Lauren Taal and Natalie Nichols all average between 10 and 11 points per game, but none of the three are shooting very efficiently and only Nichols' field goal percentage is above .400.
She and Veldman also take care of most of the rebounding, combining for 14 boards per game. Nichols has added just under three steals per game as well.
Calgary Dinos
2011 conference record: 4-2 (2nd, East Division)
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: lost to Regina 69-54, 84-67
Streak: 2 losses
The Dinos started 4-0 before running into the top-ranked Regina Cougars last weekend. They lost by double digits in both games, but still lead the conference in scoring margin at +22.7, almost four points better than second place UBC.
That average is inflated by a pair of huge wins to start the season in Brandon - one by 58 ponts and one by 68 - so it's hard to tell much about the kind of team Calgary is based on their opponents so far.
They have had at least one new game-high scorer in each contest so far, but Jenna Kaye and Tamara Jarrett have been most consistent offensively for the Dinos, each averaging 14 points per game.
Kaye has also grabbed 4.3 steals per game, and 7.2 rebounds, just off the pace set by team leader Jessica Frans, who averages eight boards. As a team, the Dinos lead the conference in steals and are second in rebounding margin.
