VANCOUVER – One week after a convincing victory over Victoria in the final week of the regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds women's rugby team heads into the Canada West Final Four on a high. However, they have tough test ahead of them as they square off against the top-ranked team in the CIS, the Alberta Pandas in the Canada West semifinal Friday morning at 10 a.m. PST in Lethbridge, Alta.

The 'Birds finished the regular season with a record of 1-3, defeating Victoria 63-17 to advance to the playoffs. They are led by Catherine Ohler, who had a team high 27 points during the four regular season games, and Ciara Malone with a team best three tries. UBC played Alberta tough back on September 28, losing 39-0. That was the smallest margin of victory for the Pandas all season.

In four regular season games, Alberta is averaging 46 points a game and their average margin of victory has been 41 points. They are led by the Canada West scoring leader Alanna Fittes, who has 63 points, including eight tries so far this year. Miranda Monty and Jen Cousineau each have four tries apiece. Alberta has been a perennial powerhouse in women's rugby since it joined the CIS back in 1998. The program has won five CIS titles, the last coming in 2003.

The winner will advance to the Canada West final on Sunday afternoon and play against the winner of the other semifinal between Calgary and Lethbridge.