VANCOUVER – Guards Diana Lee (North Vancouver) and Jessica Hanson (Vancouver) combined for 39 points to lead the UBC Thunderbirds to a 73-57 victory over the visiting Trinity Western Spartans on Saturday at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver.
 
With the victory, UBC evened its Canada West women's basketball league record to 2-2. Trinity Western falls to 1-3 despite a 23-point, 10-rebound performance from forward Tessa Ratzlaff.
 
"I thought we made a big step forward this weekend, particularly with our defence, which we saw the product of from halftime on Friday night," said UBC head coach Deb Huband, whose forced 22 TWU turnovers and gave up just 12. "We only gave up 18 points in the second half last night and I think that demonstrated to us that if we guard with attention to detail, personnel and game plan, we can be a lot more effective than what we have been at times. Also, we're learning to be a little more more dynamic offensively, and to execute with speed."
 
The Thunderbirds created separation early in the second quarter as Hanson sparked a 14-0 run with a three-point basket at the seven-minute mark.  She added an old-fashioned three-point play later in the run. Lee added a long-distance shot to along with a jumper, while Kara Spotton's (Fort Collins, Colo.) bucket and foul shot capped off the surge, which turned UBC's 21-18 advantage into a 35-18 gap.
 
Trinity Western was able to eat away at distance between the teams, closing UBC's lead to 41-37 midway through the third. However, the visitors were unable to extend that momentum, as Shilpa Khanna (Surrey, B.C.) responded with a jumper before Hanson finished off a layup to make it 45-37. The lead remained at eight after three quarters.
 
Hanson opened the fourth with five straight points to restore UBC's double-digit lead, one that went to 21 points with less than two minutes to go when Spotton grabbed her own miss and made the putback basket.
 
The team shot 40.3 per cent from the field (27-67) and 88.9 per cent from the free throw line (16-18). Forward Andrea Strujic led UBC with seven rebounds. TWU was converted 22 of 57 shot attempts for 38.6 per cent rate of success.
 
The Thunderbirds will travel to Saskatoon next weekend for a two-game set against the Saskatchewan Huskies. Last season, UBC went 4-1 against the Huskies overall, including a thrilling 69-68 win in the Canada West championship game, and a 73-61 triumph in the bronze medal game at the CIS women's basketball Final 8 in Quebec City.