VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team (4-6) will look to keep up the momentum following an impressive showing against the Lethbridge Pronghorns lasr weekend. This week, the 'Birds fly to Winnipeg to face the winless Manitoba Bisons (0-10) in a two-game series.
 
The 'Birds will make their first foray into Investors Group Athletic Center on Friday, January 15, with tip-off scheduled for 4 p.m. (PT). The two sides will clash for the second time at 2 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, January 15.
 
The 'Birds are coming off, arguably, their most complete weekend of the season performance-wise. The 'Birds dominated Lethbridge in their back-to-back set, more than doubling up on the Pronghorns 79-36 in the first contest, before walking away with a comfortable 77-47 decision in the second. On an individual level, forward Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.) paced the club in both games, scoring 21 in the first game and following it up with a 19-point showing the next night. With the impressive weekend, Spotton improved her scoring average to 18.0 points-per-game, good for third in Canada West.
 
As impressive as Spotton was against the 'Horns, the 'Birds as  whole saw the most impressive improvement - head coach Deb Huband articulated that the team had done significant work to refine their game over the holiday break, and it showed.
 
UBC shot 57-136 from the field over the two games against Lethbridge, or 41.9 per cent. That figure represents a significant uptick from the 37.9 per cent that the Thunderbirds were shooting before the month-long break.
 
On the other side of the court, Manitoba is one of two winless teams in Canada West this season, and the underlying numbers support the notion that the record isn't just a fluke. The Bisons are scoring just 57.3 points-per-game, while allowing 80.1 at their own hoop. Both numbers, along with their average margin of loss, 22.8, are bottom three in the conference. The closest the Bisons have gotten to a win this season was a 75-67 defeat at the hands of the Brandon Bobcats in late November.
 
A solitary bright spot for Manitoba is the play of third-year guard Claire Harvey. The 6-foot Winnipeg native leads the club in per-game averages of scoring, (10.7), rebounding (4.8), blocking (2.2), while also sitting second on the team in assists (1.7) and steals (1.0).