VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds finished their opening weekend strong on Saturday evening, defeating Trinity Western 75-52. The victory was a marked improvement from Friday night's 60-54 win for UBC, showing significant improvement on both ends of the floor.
BOX SCORE
The No. 10-ranked Thunderbirds move to 2-0 with the victory, thanks largely to an efficient 54% shooting mark and a smothering defense that held the Spartans to just 30% shooting.
Trinity Western falls to 0-2 but did take away some positives, including their display of a strong ability to get to the line, taking 24 free throws on the evening. Sarah Cleveland also played well despite some shooting troubles, posting a team-high 18 points.
UBC was led by
Victoria Spangehl (White Rock, BC), who had 18 points on just 12 field goal attempts. She also chipped in 10 rebounds, helping the Thunderbirds to a 16-rebound advantage on the night.
Kris Young (North Vancouver, BC) also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
But to head coach
Deb Huband, the game was more about the team effort than the play of any particular player.
“We had a solid performance from a lot of people,” Huband said. “Just in general, our team execution offensively, sharing the ball and executing looks, we were better. Our shooting percentage was substantially different tonight because of more precise execution.”
That execution helped pave the way to some strong shooting nights, including
Leigh Stansfield (Victoria, BC) connecting on five of her six attempts for 15 points.
Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver, BC) also went five-for-seven, while the bench combined to shoot eight-for-18.
The Thunderbirds showed marked improvement from Friday night, a change the coaching staff felt was due to some adjustments the team was able to make based on Friday night's video.
“We know we're a young team, we're looking to get better with every game and every practice,” explained Huband. “Last night being the first game, we were a little rough around the edges and we didn't stay composed and disciplined through possessions. It was nice after being able to see ourselves on video to be able to make some adjustments tonight and improve our play overall.”
UBC will return to Vancouver and welcome Thompson Rivers to the War Memorial Gym on Friday and Saturday next weekend, while Trinity Western will head out on the road to play Northern British Columbia.
-30-
