VANCOUVER – The No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team finished the pre-season portion of its schedule with a 79-68 loss to the Western Washington Vikings (NCAA Division II) in Bellingham on Sunday afternoon.
“I thought we played physically against their size and I thought we battled well and looked a lot sharper as we are going through our final preparations for league play,” said UBC head coach
Deb Huband after the game. “I thought in our systems, our flow and our execution offensively and defensively, we showed a lot of improvement over the last week, which is really important for us going into the start of league next week.”
The game was played under NCAA rules, which feature two 20-minute halves.
The first half was highlighted by a spectacular three-point shooting performance from the home team Vikings. WWU made ten of the 13 shots attempted from behind the arc in the first half.
“Western Washington was blistering hot from behind the three-point line, they shot the three better than any team I think I've seen,” commented Huband. “They were just unbelievable range shooters with quick releases, and really stretched our defence.”
The great shooting allowed Western Washington to build a 15-point lead at the half.
But UBC fought back, opening the second half on a 12-2 run, which included six points and a block from
Leigh Stansfield, who ended the game with nine total points.
The rest of the half saw the Thunderbirds trying to overtake the Vikings.
UBC got to within four points of WWU on four separate occasions, including with 2:06 left in the game after a
Kristen Hughes three-pointer, but could not break through.
Alex Vieweg led UBC with 18 points in the game, while Hughes chipped in with 17. She recorded all three of the Thunderbirds' shots made from behind the three-point line.
Zara Huntley was the other UBC player in double digits as she recorded ten points.
WWU's Kristin Schramm led all players by scoring 23 points. Katie Colard hit five three-pointers en route to an 18-point performance.
“I thought overall, it was a pretty strong outing,” said Huband. “It was disappointing not to get the win. I thought when we pulled the game back to within four points at the end, we had a chance.”
UBC will now prepare for its' first series of the 2011-12 regular season. The Thunderbirds will host Brandon on Remembrance Day and Regina on Nov. 12 at War Memorial Gymnasium.
