The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The UBC women's basketball team lost at home in a close, cagey affair in which they were outscored 56-47 by the third-ranked Alberta Pandas. In their first game back from the winter break, the Thunderbird women were held to their second-lowest score of the season as two top defences squared off.

BOX SCORE
 


The score changed hands 11 times in the first half as both teams looked to open up a winning margin. Saskia van Ginhoven of the Pandas led the way early on and finished the half with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting and 2 of 2 from 3-point range. Andria Carlyon, also of Alberta, played all 20 minutes of the first two quarters and racked up seven boards. Alberta's constant pressuring of the ballhandler led to few open looks and their collapsing defence in the lane contributed to them holding UBC to just 41.9 per centshooting in the half.
 
Despite that UBC ended the half just three points adrift and had arguably the better start. They led in rebounds, steals and turnovers and had created far more shots.
 
Alberta came out strong from the dressing rooms and quickly notched up a 12-2 run, but UBC rallied back to end the third quarter just six points adrift. The fourth quarter was played out in very similar fashion. Alberta scored 12 quick points within five minutes before UBC held them scoreless for the rest of the game and went a 7-0 run to close it out.
 
Kris Young top-scored for the Thunderbirds with 14 points. She created a lot of her own shots and was unfortunate that more of them did not fall. Harleen Sidhu recorded yet another double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
In a tough game in which both teams were aware of the importance of a win, it was ultimately Alberta's water-tight defence and the scoring of their supporting cast that got them over the line. The Pandas bench outscored UBC's by 25 points to four and held the 'Birds to just 35.0 per cent shooting over the full 40 minutes.
 
"They are a strong defensive team, but we felt that offensively, we got enough shots up and a lot of good shots but some nights they drop and some nights they don't." said assistant coach Shaun McGuiness when asked about the team's unlucky shooting night. "We lost each quarter by a small margin, no bigger than three points each time, and ultimately that cost us the game."
 
Despite the loss, UFV and Victoria also failed to win on Friday night, meaning UBC lost no ground on it's two biggest rivals and remains tied for first in the Pacific Division.

Alberta improves to 9-2 in regular season play and will visit Victoria on Saturday night, while the Thunerbirds will host No. 4 Saskatchewan at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver.