REGINA - For the second consecutive night, the UBC Thunderbirds comeback effort was thwarted by the no. 5 ranked Regina Cougars as the hosts from Regina sealed a 75-69 lead late in the fourth quarter thanks to some timely three-point shooting.
Last night saw UBC make a push early in the third quarter to cut into a big Regina lead before the hosts pulled away over the final 16 minutes. Tonight, UBC left their comeback later but did make it all the way back, tying the game at 65-65 with 1:48 remaining on the back of a 12-1 run.
Just when the visitors appeared to be cashing in on their advantage in number of shots, thanks to a 14-8 edge in offensive rebounds and a +10 rating in the turnover battle, Regina nailed a pair of back-to-back three pointers to retake control of the game.
Joanna Zalesiak and Carley Graham converted on consecutive long range attempts for the Cougars, who to that point were just 4-of-11 from downtown on the night, at the 8:27 and 9:10 marks of the fourth quarter. UBC kept pace with a mini 4-1 run but they ran out of time as the Cougars made enough free throws down the stretch to improve their conference record to 17-3, good enough for second place in the current standings.
"We were really pleased with how we bounced back after last night. Unfortunately we didn't get the win but I like what I saw in terms of our heart and our willingness to battle all game long," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "It was a physical game out there but we really worked hard to assert ourselves in the paint. By the end of the game, we were a little tired but overall it was a much better effort."
With the loss, the T-Birds - who have already clinched a spot in the post-season - fall to 13-7 on the season and saw their hopes of hosting a home playoff series take a hit with back-to-back losses on the road. With a pair of games against fourth-place Victoria still to come, however, UBC is not out of the running for a home playoff date.
Zalesiak and Graham led the way for Regina with 17 points apiece while Zalesiak paced her team with nine rebounds and six assists.
For UBC, it was the trio of
Zara Huntley,
Alex Vieweg, and
Leigh Stansfield that led the way on offence. Huntley finished with a team-high 17 points and added six boards, Vieweg added 15 points and a game-high nine boards, and Stansfield had 10 points and six boards off the bench.
Those three players converted 17 of the T-Birds 27 field goals while the rest of the UBC line-up was just 10-of-43 on the night. UBC shot 35.1% from the field compared to to 48.1% for Regina.
UBC host Thompson Rivers next weekend in their final home series of the regular season. They close out their 2010-11 Canada West campaign the following weekend on the road in Victoria.
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