The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER - The No. 9 UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team fell to the Victoria Vikes 85-73 in front of a loud McKinnon crowd in their penultimate game of the season. The Vikes, who had two seniors playing in what could have been their final home games, were not to denied and had a resurgent second half that the Thunderbirds were unable to match.
 
The 'Birds came out of the blocks at a frenetic and yet efficient pace. They quickly rushed into the lead and held an 11-point margin at one point as the first quarter ended 28-19.
 
Cassandra Knievel knocked down her first three three-pointers and was 4-for-5 in field goal attempts through the first 20 minutes. Maggie Sundberg, who has fought her way back into the starting point guard spot, matched her all the way also going 4-for-5 in the first half.
 
As one Cassandra started hot, so did another. This one, Goodis, belonged to the Vikes and she contributed in all manner of ways by recording 5 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in a stellar first-half performance.
 
The Vikes had pulled themselves back in the game by this point and led 43-40 at the intermission courtesy of a late 11-3 run. No fouls were called in the first 12 minutes of play in a highly-entertaining opening half.
 
The Thunderbirds shot an incredible 61 per cent in the opening two periods, as well as 67 per cent from 3-point land. They did this on 13 less field goal attempts than the Vikes. It was amazing to only be three points down at the break, but they soon saw their percentages normalize late in the third quarter.
 
UBC jumped straight into an 11-0 run as soon as the second half began and continued their hot shooting streak. Victoria rallied straight back with a 12-4 run of their own to tie the game back up. Both teams exchanged leads for the next couple of minutes before Victoria went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter and lead 67-60 going into the fourth.
 
Just like in every other period, the 'Birds started the fourth red hot and pulled themselves back into it with the scores tied at 70-70. Disappointingly, they also saw the fourth end like every other period. Victoria came back strong and costly turnovers by the Thunderbirds allowed the Vikes to put themselves in a winning position. They closed the game out with a 15-3 run that UBC was unable to answer.
 
This loss now leaves the Thunderbirds and Victoria tied in the Pacific Division standings with 15-6 records, one game back of leaders Fraser Valley.
 
That makes tomorrow's game back in Vancouver even more crucial as it will ultimately decide which team gets a home playoff quarter-final and captures the second seed. Due to Fraser Valley's superior head-to-head and division record, even if they were to lose tomorrow they would not cough up the top seed to either UBC or Victoria.
 
Tomorrow's matchup tips off at 5 p.m. in War Memorial Gym.