Kelowna, BC - The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team heads up to Kelowna this weekend to take on their UBC counterparts, the UBC Okanagan Heat. In a basketball weekend double-header, the teams will tip-off at 6 p.m. on Friday night and 5 p.m. on Saturday at UBC Okanagan campus gymnasium. For Thunderbirds fans who can't make the trip up, both games will be streamed live at
www.canadawest.tv.
#6 UBC Thunderbirds (10-4, .714)
Last Week: W 78-39 vs Brandon, L 63-53 vs Regina
The Thunderbirds will look to rebound from having their nine game win streak snapped by the Regina Cougars last weekend. After shooting a sharp 50.8% from the floor, 40.9% from three, and 87.5% at the line in an easy victory of the winless Brandon Bobcats on Friday night, the Thunderbirds couldn't seem to buy a basket against the Cougars, who came into the weekend ranked second in the CIS. They shot a dismal 28 percent from the field, and got just seven points from their bench, who had 32 the previous night.
That bench was led by third-year guard
Alyssa Binns (Port Moody, BC) had a career high 14 points on five of seven shooting against the Bobcats, and did well in her switch from shooting guard to the point. But like many of her teammates, struggled to find her rhythm on Saturday night, missing all four of her attempts. The one Thunderbird who was consistent in both games was
Kris Young (North Vancouver, BC), who had game highs of 16 and 18 points on 7-11 and 7-16 attempts. While their shooting was a bit off the mark,
Cassandra Knievel (Nanaimo) did come up with 10 points on both nights, and
Victoria Spangehl (White Rock, BC) was a force on the glass, picking up nine boards (five offensive) on Saturday. Hopefully we will see
Leigh Stansfield (Victoria, BC) bring back the inside energy that we've seen so much of this season. She was not as dominant last weekend after getting herself into a bit of foul trouble early on against the Cougars, but she has the ability to open up a lot space for outside shooters like Binns, Knievel, and
Maggie Sundberg (Mansfield, CT) when she's active in the paint.
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While they did not get the outcome they had hoped for against Regina, the Thunderbirds for the most part did well defensively, maintaining their intensity for the better part of both games last weekend. They held the high-scoring Cougars to 63 points, which is far below the league-best average of 78.9 points a game that they began the weekend with. Had the Thunderbirds been able to find the hoop better themselves, it would have been a very different game. It will be important for them to continue that defensive concentration and not allow the streaky Heat to get too hot or punish them for silly fouls. |
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UBC Okanagan Heat (5-10, .333)
Last Week: L 87-65 at Saskatchewan, L 87-56 at Alberta
After giving up 87 points apiece to Saskatchewan and Alberta last weekend and losing by 22 and 29 respectively, the Heat now sit at 5-10 this season and are a long shot at making the playoffs. However, those were road games, and the Heat seem to play much better in front of their home crowd in Kelowna. Home victories against other sub .500 teams like Mount Royal, Brandon, and Lethbridge may not be something to get that excited about, but it is worth noting that they also gave the Calgary Dinos a run for their money a couple weeks ago.
The CIS #10 Dinos are 12-2 this season and are fresh off taking down the top-ranked UFV Cascades this past weekend. But when they visited Kelowna on January 11
th, they only escaped with a narrow 74-71 victory over the Heat. Led by second-year guard Sarah Allison (South Surrey, BC) and veteran Madison Keneda (Vernon, BC), the Heat pushed the Dinos to the brink with a dominant 28-17 edge in the third quarter. Unfortunately the lead was short-lived as the Dinos fought back, taking the fourth quarter 24-12 and thus coming out on top. Allison and Kaneda finished with 24 and 13 points respectively, and Emily Kanester (Vernon, BC) added another 11 in a solid effort by the Heat. Those three players, along with senior post Robyn Huber (Kelowna, BC) contribute the bulk of the team's offence and rebounding on a nightly basis.
Allison averages a team-high 14.9 points a game and is one of the most consistent free throw shooters in the country, converting 86.3% of her shots from the line. In fact, the Heat lead Canada West basketball in free throw percentage, currently maintaining 78 percent as a team. The Thunderbirds shoot a poor 66.4% in this category, but thankfully they make up for it with an overall 42.1% from the floor, compared to just 34.1% for the Heat. However, while the Heat can certainly make other teams pay for their foul troubles, and Kaneda shoots a sharp 37.5% from three-point range, they struggle with defence, allowing their opponents 74.3 points a game and only averaging 65.1 themselves. They'll need to find a way to stop the Thunderbirds' inside-outside scoring threats and continue to be efficient with their own shot selection if they want to win either of these games.
