VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team returns to War Memorial Gym this weekend for their last home games of 2012. With home crowd support, they'll look to upset the undefeated Calgary Dinos on Friday night, and on Saturday will take on the 4-4 Lethbridge Pronghorns.
Tickets for UBC Thunderbirds home games are $10 for adults, $5 for youth/seniors/UBC staff/visiting students, and just $2 for UBC students and UNA members. Kids under 6 get in for free! Alternatively, live stats and video can be found at
www.canadawest.tv.
GAME TIMES
Friday, November 30th - UBC vs. Calgary @ 6 p.m. PST (War Memorial Gym, Vancouver)
Saturday, December 1st - UBC vs. Lethbridge @ 5 p.m. PST (War Memorial Gym, Vancouver)
UBC Thunderbirds (5-3, .625)
Last Week: L 72-62 at Saskatchewan, W 71-58 at Alberta
After a bit of a lacklustre effort in last Friday night's loss to Saskatchewan, the Thunderbirds stormed back against Alberta and snapped a three game losing skid. They had impressive individual performances from
Kris Young (North Vancouver, BC),
Leigh Stansfield (Victoria, BC), and
Maggie Sundberg (Mansfield, CT), but it was a collective 80% from the free throw line as a team that made the difference down the stretch. This was a big improvement from what we've seen so far from the Thunderbirds, who came into the game dead last in the conference in free throw percentage, shooting a dismal 62%. When Alberta put the pressure on in the fourth quarter, UBC was able to capitalize on being in a bonus situation and used the charity stripe to their advantage to prevent Alberta from stealing the game away. They also had an improved defensive effort and shot 50% from the floor on the night.
The young Thunderbirds have gone through their share of growing pains, but are now starting to gel as a unit.
Kris Young is putting up MVP-like numbers so far, ranking in the Canada West top 10 in almost every statistical category. She and
Leigh Stansfield have been consistently dominant as UBC's leaders, and new players are starting to step into their supporting roles.
Maggie Sundberg in particular appears to be adjusting to her new job as a starter. The rookie point guard had 12 points and three boards in Saturday's win, hitting both her three's and all four free throws. Second year forward
Stephanie Bell (North Vancouver, BC) also responded well to increased minutes last weekend. She managed two points and four rebounds in Friday's losing effort, but had a breakout game on Saturday with seven points and three assists, making both her field goals and three of four shots from the line.
#8 Calgary Dinos (8-0, 1.000)
Last Week: W 82-72 vs. Mount Royal, W 91-78 vs. UNBC
Calgary continued their win streak with victories at home against Mount Royal and UNBC last weekend. The undefeated Dinos are led by veteran forward Jessica Franz (Surrey, BC), who is averaging 18 points and eight rebounds so far this season. Fellow fifth-years Megan Schaufele (Delta, BC) and Alex Cole (Calgary, AB) also had big games this past weekend. Schaufele chipped in with 14 and 15 points, while Cole nabbed 10 rebounds on Saturday. With a 30-point fourth quarter effort on Friday night, the Dinos showed again that they can come up big in the clutch. Franz scored 10 of her game-high 24 points in the final frame, while guard Erika Romanov (Calgary, AB) lit it up from downtown with a couple of three's to seal the game. The relentless Dinos have already gotten the job done in several close game scenarios out on the road, so UBC can't get complacent or expect them to give up at any point in time.
Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-4, .500)
Last Week: W 74-58 vs. UNBC, L 69-65 vs. Mount Royal
The Pronghorns charged to an easy victory at home over UNBC last Friday night thanks to 22 and 19 point efforts from Ali Cameron (Raymond, AB) and Erin Skippon (Manotick, BC), respectively. Cameron was deadly from beyond the arc with six three's, and Skippon also grabbed seven rebounds.
The 'Horns fell back to .500 the following night when they came up just a few points short against Mount Royal. They were unable to overcome a night of poor shooting, with Cameron's 7-of-22 field goals just one example. Despite this, she had a game high 23 points, and Skippon added another 13. Point guard Katlyn Olsen (Welling, AB) showed that despite being just 5'6”, she is fully capable of attacking the glass. She dishes out nearly five assists per game, and on Saturday night also pulled down 13 defensive boards.
It would seem that the Pronghorns live and die by their three-point shots. Coming into last weekend, they were shooting nearly 38% from beyond the arc as a team, which ranked them second in Canada West. In Friday's win they were slightly under 50% at 8-17, but on Saturday against Mount Royal they made just three of 25 attempts in a losing effort. Since they are so streaky, it will be important for the Thunderbirds not to give them too many open looks.
