BRANDON, Man. – The UBC Thunderbirds picked up an important 72-60 road win Saturday night to split the weekend series with the Brandon Bobcats, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
 
In a game that felt like a playoff contest from the opening tip, both the Bobcats and T-Birds played like their entire seasons were at stake. The Bobcats had one game in hand thanks to Friday's win, but with UBC's victory Saturday, the two teams sport matching 7-11 records entering the final weekend of the season. That brings the two teams into a three-way tie with Victoria, whom the Bobcats play next weekend in their final two games of the season.
 
The Bobcats carried a 38-32 lead into the half looking like they've found some rhythm in the first two quarters.
 
The third quarter has plagued the Bobcats at times this season, which was the case again Saturday as UBC outscored Brandon 23-6 in the third, and 17-16 in the fourth to hang on for the eight-point victory.
 
UBC was paced by team-scoring leader Kara Spotton's (Fort Collins, Colo.) game-high 18 points. Adrienne Parkin (Vancouver) finished two rebounds shy of a double-double (13 points, eight boards).
 
Three Bobcats finished in double-digit scoring, led by Keisha Cox who finished with 17 points and seven boards, while Amy Williams had 13 points and Alyssa Montgomery had 10 points.
 
The Bobcats will travel to Victoria next weekend, while the Thunderbirds will host the Winnipeg Wesmen, who currently sit one game up on both UBC and Brandon at 8-10.