The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER - With every player on the team contributing to the scoreline, the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team overcame the UNBC Timberwolves 84-58 Saturday night at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver.

With the win, the Thunderbirds complete the sweep of the Prince George visitors after triumphing 79-58 on Friday night. They advance to 11-5 in Canada West regular season play while the Timberwolves fall to 4-12.
 
UBC racked-up a stunning 21 steals and 22 assists Saturday, paying testament to their defensive resilience, and the veteran dynamic duo of Kris Young and Harleen Sidhu championed the team's offence. Young led the team with a game-high 18 points and five steals, while Sidhu contributed 16 points and five rebounds.
 
The 'Birds found themselves tied at 18-18 at the end of the first quarter; but, they garnered their strength and took-off in the second, out-playing the Timberwolves. With three and a half minutes to go in the second, Young sent one from beyond the arc to give UBC a 10-point lead – an advantage that would not be challenged for the remainder of the game. The Thunderbirds were up 43-27 at the half, and extended the gap to 22 by the end of the third.
 
There were 11 lead changes in the game, all taking place in the first quarter. UBC's Maggie Sundberg hit a three-pointer to put her team up 11-5 halfway through the opening period but Sarah Robin scored five straight points to cap off a 7-0 UNBC run that gave the visitors a 12-11 lead. From their the two teams traded buckets until the end of the first.

As a whole, the 'Birds carried a 53.4 per cent shooting average from the field, almost 20 per cent higher than UNBC.
 
The Timberwolves looked to fifth-year Mercedes VanKoughnett to lead the charge. VanKoughnett contributed 17 points and four steals, while Sarah Robin and Mavia Nijjer recorded 14 and 11 points, respectively.
 
UBC head coach Deb Huband noted that the Thunderbirds' game improved greatly over the two nights: "I think our defensive intensity was better for longer periods of time. We had 21 steals and that's a big stat, so I think that shows that a lot of different people got involved defensively. I think, too, that we shared the ball a lot better; we had 20 assists. I think we played a better team game, wherein we read what was there and then executed our offense better. It was a nice team win; it was good to get everyone on the floor for decent minutes. Everybody contributed on the scoreboard so we displayed intensity from the beginning and it all starts on defence."
 
Young was pleased with the team's improvements over the weekend: "I think we got the results we wanted; we got the two 'W's. The first night was a little rocky on things we wanted to get better at, as in our defence and our offensive execution. Our second game, we came out and we did a lot better than that. We came away with some good progress on our defence and our offence this weekend."

Looking forward to the playoffs, Young feels as though the team's communication will determine its success. "We are a really tight group, so on the Friday game, when we weren't talking and we weren't communicating, it was weird because we usually do that quite well. We don't play well when we aren't communicating so that's one of our major focuses and I think we communicated a lot better in tonight's game. We had a good game tonight so I think we are confidant moving on to the playoffs in a couple of weeks."
 
Next weekend, the Thunderbirds will travel to Alberta to take on the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns Friday evening and the University of Calgary Dinos Saturday.

Tip-off for Friday is at 5 p.m PT and 4 p.m. Saturday. The Timberwolves will travel to Saskatchewan Friday and Alberta on Saturday.