VNACOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team (0-2) will aim to snag their first win of the season this weekend, as they host the Trinity Western Spartans (1-1) in a set of back-to back battles between lower mainland rivals. The games will run on Friday, November 13, and Saturday, November 14, with Friday's matchup starting at 6:00 p.m. (PT), while Saturday's contest is set for a 5:00 p.m. (PT) tip-off. Both games will be held at War Memorial Gym.
 
The 'Birds dropped two games against the Alberta Pandas in their opening weekend of the season, falling by scores of 72-67 and 69-54. In the former, the 'Birds held close for the majority of the contest, before an 18-0 Alberta run that bridged the third and fourth quarters proved to be the difference. In the loss, the 'Birds got some solid performances from Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.), Jessica Hanson (Vancouver) and Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver), with 17, 16 and 10 points respectively.
 
Like the night before, UBC's second game against the Pandas saw them stay in it until late, as the 'Birds trailed 43-38 heading into the fourth quarter. At that point, Alberta just took over the final frame, outscoring the T-Birds 26-16.
 
The Spartans are coming off of a mixed weekend, as they opened their season with a thrilling 78-71 win over the Victoria Vikes in front of their home crowd. Second-year forward Tessa Ratzlaff was absolutely dominant, netting a career-high 31 points for Trinity Western, who outscored the VIkes 8-0 in the extra frame.
 
Victoria responded with some bite in the second contest between the two sides, as the Vikes simply outperformed the Spartans all over the court en route to a 77-52 win. Trinity Western shot just 34.0% from the floor, but where they really struggled was in their depth scoring, as Victoria's bench outscored the Spartans' bench 30-19.
 
After battling the Spartans, the 'Birds will prepare to hit the road, as they face the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon in back-to-back games November 20 -21.