VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds played a much more complete game on Saturday night in their rematch against the Northern BC Timberwolves, leading wire-to-wire en route to a 70-48 victory.
Unlike last night's game, this one was never really a competition. UBC shot 51 percent from the field and had a 37-25 edge on the glass.
The Thunderbirds are now 16-4 and will begin their playoff run in two weeks time.
Every UBC player hit at least one basket tonight, but it was
Leigh Stansfield (Victoria, B.C.) who led the way again with 16 points. Although she played just 16 minutes, Stansfield was on fire tonight and missed just one of her eight attempts from the floor.
Kris Young (North Vancouver) and
Alyssa Binns (Port Moody, B.C.) added 12 and 11 points respectively, while Kady Dandeneau (Pender Island, B.C.) and Mercedes Van Koughnett (Prince George, B.C.) had 11 apiece for the Timberwolves, who fell to 6-14 with the loss. Forward
Stephanie Bell (North Vancouvergrabbed a game-high eight boards for UBC.
Despite that they turned the ball over 21 times, which is concerning, UBC controlled the game right from the get go and never let UNBC get close. With starting point guard
Cassandra Knievel (Nanaimo, B.C.) injured and not dressed for the game tonight, Binns took over and immediately set UBC's offence in motion.
Eight Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard in the first quarter and they took a 20-7 lead. With three first-half triples, Binns led all scorers with nine points as the Thunderbirds walked off to a 37-19 advantage at halftime. The Timberwolves found some life in the third quarter and were able to give their fans something to cheer about as they outscored UBC 18-15. But with a 15-point lead going into the final 10 minutes, UBC wasn't threatened and dominated again in the fourth, cruising on to the victory.
The 'Birds have won six straight now and have just two games left in the regular season. Their home-and-away set with the Victoria Vikes next weekend will decide who gets home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The 'Birds are a game up on the Vikes and thus need just one more win to finish above them in the standings. They'll look to lock up home court in front of their own fans at War Memorial Gym on Friday night. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
