Women's Basketball 3/5/2015 1:47:00 AM Noah Derksen (UBC Sports Information Assistant)

UBC hosts the Canada West women's basketball Final Four this weekend

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball program is set to host the Canada West Final Four in Vancouver's War Memorial Gymnasium for the first time since 2007.

In the first semifinal UBC will face the University of Alberta Pandas at 6p.m. PT on Friday, while the University of Victoria Vikes will take on the University of Saskatchewan Huskies at 8p.m. PT. Gold and bronze medal games will occur the following day at 7p.m. and 5p.m. PT, respectively.

After a 17-3 regular season record, placing them atop the newly founded Pioneer Division and giving them the top seed heading into playoffs, the Thunderbirds defeated the University of Regina Cougars in consecutive games in a quarter-final best-of-three series, thus earning them a hosting position for the Canada West Final Four. The last time UBC hosted the Final Four tournament they defeated Alberta in the gold-medal game.

"[Hosting Final Four] was our goal coming into the season," said fifth-year forward Kris young. "It's definitely nice not to travel [for playoffs]."

The Thunderbirds are currently on a 14 game winning streak in Canada West play, having yet to lose a game in 2015.

"We've gotten a lot better throughout the course of the season," said Young. "We've had to refine a few things, learning what works well for us, and in the second semester we've really started to peak – we're meshing and playing well as a team."

Young was recently named the Canada West Player of the Year, becoming the first Thunderbird to win the award twice.

"I was honestly a little surprised to win the award; it feels like I'm doing a little less because my teammates are doing so much more," said Young, who averaged a career-high 18.0 points per game on 49.1% field goal percentage this regular season. "Things just feel so much easier, and I haven't had as much pressure to score. It just goes to show that when you play as a team everyone plays better."

Young has established herself as one of the elite players in Canada West history. In each of her last four seasons in the league, she has been amongst the Canada West leaders in scoring, only dropping out of the top-five during her third season where she was awarded both Canada West and CIS Player of the Year titles.

"To be awarded anything in your league is one of the biggest honours that I can have."

Young will finish her Canada West career with a compiled 1551 regular season points through five years in the league – tying her for 10^th all time in that category.

Fellow fifth-year Harleen Sidhu was named a Canada West Second Team All-Star for the second consecutive season after yet another impactful year. Sidhu averaged 13.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, the latter leading this year's UBC team.

The Pandas were 16-4 in regular season play, finishing third in the Pioneer Division. They routed MacEwan University in the quarter-finals to earn a berth to the semifinals.

Saskia van Ginhoven, Alberta's lone Canada West All-Star, was named a First Team All-Star for the first time in her career this season. The six-foot-one forward averaged 16.7 points per game in her fifth and final season while shooting an impressive 58.0% from the field – good for third in the conference.

The two teams faced at the beginning of the season in Edmonton, splitting the weekend series.

"We've changed a lot and grown as a team since November," said Young. "I'm sure every team does, but we're feeling confident. [Alberta's] a really physical team, but as long as we take care of what we need to, it should be a good game."

The winners of the two semi final games will automatically earn berths to the CIS National Championship at Laval University in Quebec City next weekend. One wildcard spot will be chosen to round out the top eight teams in the national tournament.

The weekend will be the last of it's kind in War Memorial Gymnasium for Young, Sidhu, and Lauren Seabrook, as the trio will have used up their five years of eligibility following the culmination of this post-season.

Friday's tipoff between the Thunderbirds and Pandas will be at 6 p.m. PT within UBC's War Memorial Gymnasium.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#11 Lauren Seabrook: F; 6' 2"; 4th

#15 Harleen Sidhu: F; 6' 2"; 5th

#6 Kris Young: G; 5' 10"; 5th

#5 Diana Lee: G; 5' 7"; 4th

Players Mentioned

#11 Lauren Seabrook
: 6' 2"; 4th
: F

#15 Harleen Sidhu
: 6' 2"; 5th
: F

#6 Kris Young
: 5' 10"; 5th
: G

#5 Diana Lee
: 5' 7"; 4th
: G