The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER - Despite going into halftime with a mere one-point lead, the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team blazed through the second half to overcome the UNBC Timberwolves 79-58 on Friday evening at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver. With the victory, UBC improves to 10-5 while UNBC falls to 4-11.

BOX SCORE
 
Fourth-year guard Kris Young tallied 18 points and a game-high nine steals, one off the school record of 10, Friday night, while Cassandra Knievel added 17. Second-year guard Maggie Sundberg shot a remarkable 80 per cent from three-point range, going 4-for-4 in the second half to spark UBC's momentum. Sundberg contributed 12 points in total for the 'Birds, while Harleen Sidhu, who played a mere 21 minutes, had 14 points.
 
Fifth-year Mercedes VanKoughnett led the way for the Timberwolves, tallying a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. The 5-foot-8 guard's presence on the court was vital to UNBC's success in the first, and she communicated effectively alongside Emily Kaehn, Mavia Nijjer, and Sarah Robin, who contributed seven points apiece.
 
VanKoughnett's layup with 4:34 left in the third quarter gave UNBC a slim 46-45 advantage but UBC scored 10 straight points to end the third and Sundberg opened the fourth with one of her triples to put the home team up 59-46 and the game out of reach.

The Timberwolves closed to within eight points on two occasions in the final quarter but UBC rolled in the latter stages of the fourth, thanks in part to Sidhu, who contributed nine points and five rebounds in the period.

Sidhu opened the game with a three-point play, driving from the top of the key before banking a lay-up and securing the subsequent foul shot. UNBC responded with stunning shooting throughout the remainder of the half; the Timberwolves went 72 per cent from the field in the first quarter, and shot 60 per cent from beyond the arc in the first half. VanKoughnett had 17 points by halftime. UBC battled through, and with the help of two three-pointers from Knievel, the 'Birds went into the half ahead, 39-38.
 
UBC head coach Deb Huband noted the disparity between the first and second halves of the game: "I think our defenve was a step behind in the first half; in the second half, we started to guard a little bit better, which led to some misses and some consecutive scores. I think we struggled a bit offensively and [UNBC was] hot-handed in the first half. I thought we rebounded a lot better in the second half and forced some misses."
 
For tomorrow evening's game, the Thunderbirds will be looking to strengthen their overall play. "There is still a lot we need to do better. We'll watch some tape, and we'll highlight a couple of things and we'll get to work tomorrow," Huband said. "Hopefully, we'll have a more complete game tomorrow. We had a strong 20 minutes in the second half, but tomorrow, we need to build to 40 minutes."
 
On Saturday evening, these two teams will come together for the second night of the weekend double-header at War Memorial Gymnasium. Tip-off is at 5 p.m.