The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball closed out a fifth straight win with a hard-fought victory over the Lethbridge Pronghorns 68-55.

BOX SCORE

Playing in Alberta, Harleen Sidhu led the team with 20 points, 17 of which came in the first half.  The win gives head coach Deb Huband her 399th career victory, just one shy of the 400 milestone for regular season, playoff and non-conference wins.
 
Adrienne Parkin opened the scoring as she rolled to the basket and was fed by Sidhu to get the game underway. UBC led by seven early on but the home team rallied and knocked down four quick jumpers to take the lead. It was to be their only lead of the game as the 'Birds responded with a 12-2 run of their own to finish the quarter with a 23-14 lead.
 
Sidhu exploded in the first half knocking down all eight of her shots and her sole free-throw attempt. It was not until four minutes into the third quarter that Sidhu actually missed a shot.
 
UBC held a ten-point advantage at the half-time break, despite Lethbridge closing to within two points in the second quarter. Cassandra Knievel came out hot in the third quarter determined to increase the T-Birds' advantage.  She moved to 13 points with a fearless deep three-pointer that was all of 27-feet after knocking down four straight from the charity stripe.
 
Kim Veldman was certainly not going to let the game get away from her team. She scored 11 points of her team's 14 points in the third quarter that was split evenly between the two teams. She finished the game with 21 points and 12 rebounds, of which six were on the offensive glass. Going into the fourth, UBC retained the 10-point lead they had accumulated at half-time.
 
Katlyn Olsen opened the final period with a pair of three-pointers, sandwiched between a Knievel jumper, to bring her team to within six points. Just when it looked like things were starting to get away from the Thunderbirds, Kris Young, who had been held to just four points throughout the second half, hit a crucial shot from beyond the arc. With just 1:52 left on the clock, it restored a nine-point lead and ensured UBC would wrap up the win.
 
Young, Parkin and Knievel all ended the game with 15 points each and had 10 assists and 11 steals between them in what proved to be a dominant team display.
 
The Thunderbirds head to Calgary tomorrow where they take on the Dinos who were just edged 58-54 by Thunderbird rivals Victoria.