VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team (3-6) led from start to finish on Friday night at War Memorial Gym, dominating the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns (0-7) 79-36. 
 
The 'Birds were paced by forward Kara Spotton's (Fort Collins, Colo.) 21 points, while fifth-year senior Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver), with 12 points, and rookie guard Jessica Hanson (Vancouver), with 10 also got into double digits. Fifth-year guard Diana Lee (North Vancouver) was the team's top facilitator, doling out five assists.
 
On the Lethbridge side, it was freshman guard Katie Keith that did the heavy lifting offensively, racking up 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Keith's back court mate, third-year Zoe Dahl added seven points for the horns, while forward Lily Moradel notched six.
 
The first quarter was a scattered affair, with neither side able to really put together a consistent stretch of play, as they ended the opening 10 minutes having made just a combined 9-of-34 field goal attempts. Spotton led the way for the 'Birds with five points and five boards, while guard Kendra Lee paced the 'Horns with three points. UBC ended the frame with a 13-7 lead.
 
The second quarter saw the 'Birds come out swinging, stretching their lead to 23-9 on the back of a 10-2 run in the opening four minutes. Lethbridge did well to stop the bleeding quickly, as Dahl scored five straight points on her own, followed by a bucket from Moradel, which brought UBC's lead down to 23-16.
 
Three straight triples from the T-Birds created some separation for the home side, as Shilpa Khanna (Surrey, B.C.) hit two, while the freshman Hanson sank one to put the hosts up 36-19
 
Two minutes later, the T-Birds entered the halftime break with a 37-19 lead over their Alberta rivals. Khanna and Spotton headed the frame for the T-Birds, tied with six points apiece, while Dahl's five points were enough to lead the 'Horns.
 
The third quarter saw the 'Birds thoroughly dictate the play, putting up a 15-3 run over the course of eight minutes. Keith knocked down a couple of Lethbridge buckets late, bringing the score to 52-26 as the third frame came to a close.
 
The 'Birds cruised through the final quarter of action, outscoring the Pronghorns 27-10. The T-Birds got solid contributions from their bench in the fourth frame, with Hanson, Kamila Wojciechowski (Burnaby, B.C.), and Susan Thompson (Calgary) all getting on the board multiple times.
 
For UBC head coach Deb Huband, both the shaky performance in the first quarter and the terrific play afterwards can be partially attributed to the month-and-a-half holiday break.
 
"Obviosuly we expected to be a bit rusty, having not played since the end of November," said Huband. "More than that, we also expected to be hungry, because we spent a lot of time over the break working on our game, trying to refine aspects that need to improve, and I think overall, I'm happy. I think our defensive effort, our communication, and our execution offensively were all a lot better. It's a good start for us."
 
The 'Birds and 'Horns will square off once more on Saturday evening, as War Memorial Gym is set to host the second half of this two-game series at 5 p.m. (PT).