VANCOUVER – Forward Kara Spotton (Fort Collins, Colo.) just missed tying the UBC school record for points in a game, scoring 38 to lead her Thunderbirds to an 80-64 victory over the host Manitoba Bisons Friday in Winnipeg. 
 
Spotton was ultra efficient, converting 15 of her 18 shots from the field, while going 8-of-9 from the free throw line in just 27 minutes of play.
 
Her 21 points in the first quarter established a UBC standard for scoring in a single period, while Spotton's 15 field goals tied the Thunderbirds record, which she now shares with Lisa Nickle (Nov. 8, 1991) and Harleen Sidhu (Nov. 8, 2013).
 
Spotton's 38-point performance puts her in third spot on UBC's all-time single-game scoring list. Kris Young remains the record holder with 40 points, a mark set March 12, 2015 in the quarter-finals of the CIS Final 8 against Ryerson in Quebec City. Nickle is No. 2 based on her 39 points against Saskatchewan on February 12, 1993.
 
Other than Jessica Hanson's (Vancouver) jumper with 2:36 left in the first that gave UBC a 14-12 lead, Spotton provided all of the Thunderbirds scoring in the opening quarter. UBC trailed 12-8 before finishing with 15 straight points to lead 23-12 going into the second. Spotton's record-setting first quarter saw her go 7-of-10 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line. She added four rebounds and a couple of steals in a jam-packed eight minutes.
 
However, Manitoba responded with 10 consecutive points to open the second quarter to get to within a point of UBC. But the Thunderbirds were able to take a 35-27 advantage into the mid-game break as Spotton scored the last three buckets of the half.
 
After the first 20 minutes of play, Spotton had 29 of UBC's 35 points, and had outscored the host squad by two.
 
A three-point barrage from guard Diana Lee (North Vancouver) pushed the Thunderbirds' lead into double digits after the restart. In the first 6:54 of third quarter, Lee nailed three triples to UBC ahead 48-33. A Spotton bucket later in the period put the T-Birds up by 20.
 
Despite a 14-4 Bisons run that bridged the third-quarter break, UBC led by double digits for all of the fourth quarter.
 
Lee chipped in with a 15-point, six assist effort for UBC, while Hanson drained 13 points. Forward Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver) grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

UBC out-rebounded Manitoba 43-26 and was successful on 20 of 26 foul shots while the hosts got only five attempts from the charity stripe. The Thunderbirds shot 48.3 per cent from the field (28-58) compared to the Bisons' 43.5 per cent (27-62).
 
With the victory, the Thunderbirds improve to 5-6 and will look to get back to .500 on Saturday with a 2 p.m. (PT) rematch against the 0-11 Bisons in Winnipeg.

The Bell NBA All-Star Challenge presented by AIR MILES is making its way across Canada ahead of the 2016 NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, and on Saturday, January 23, the competition will make its way to UBC's Point Grey campus.

Saturday's festivities, culminating with the Thunderbirds men's and women's double-header against the Regina Cougars, will be headlined by an NBA skills competition, and appearances from former Vancouver Grizzlies icon Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The NBA will be rolling out the full big-league experience at War Memorial Gym during the two Thunderbird basketball games, as sponsors Bell, Samsung, BMO, and AIR MILES will be doling out prizes, giveaways amidst a host of interactive exhibits and performances.