VANCOUVER - Despite a valiant attempt at a fourth quarter comeback the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team's (13-9, 9-4) shooting struggles on Friday night led to an upset, as they fell 80-75 at the hands of the Mount Royal Cougars (3-10, 3-10).

Giving up 80 points is way more than what our expectations are defensively," assessed UBC head coach Deb Huband. 'It was good that we showed the resiliency to make a game of it late, but giving up 26 points in the first quarter put us in an unfortunate hole, and set the tone for the game."

Star import guard Madison Penn notched 21 points to lead the 'Birds, but her 7-for-28 line was indicative of the Thunderbirds' night, as they shot a collective 26-of-81 (32.1%) from the field. Kara Spotton had a strong night inside, as the senior forward picked up 14 points and 12 boards. Sophomore guard Jessica Hanson also hit double figures for the 'Birds, posting 14 points.



Marina Kehrig led the Cougars with 15 points, while three other players picked up at least 12.

The Cougars caught fire from beyond the arc in the opening quarter, making four 3-pointers, two courtesy of Erin Kehrig, to take a 26-19 lead going into the second frame. 

Mount Royal continued their solid shooting performance into the second quarter, especially on the interior as Becky Nash, who ended with 13 points, went 4-6 in the stanza. Mount Royal's solid outside shooting as well as Nash's inside game sent the home team into the locker room up 41-29 going into the second half. 

While the Thunderbirds tried to claw their way back into the game in the third, the Cougars made it tough as Michelle Tiffany would make back-to-back three pointers five minutes in, putting the Cougars back up by 13.

A back-and-forth third frame saw both teams total 21 points, the last two of which for the Thunderbirds came off a pair of Keylyn Filewich free throws to go into the fourth quarter down 62-50. 

Heading into the final quarter, @UBCWBBall continue to trail @MRUCougars, 62-50. Maddison Penn leads all scorers with 15pts & 8rebs. pic.twitter.com/e71KmYH7Rj

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) January 21, 2017

The Thunderbirds came out strong in the fourth as Penn found her form, making her second three pointer before Hanson made a shot in tight to put UBC within eight. 

The Cougars began playing sloppy with six minutes remaining in the game. Mount Royal turned the ball over three times in a one minute span, leading to three Thunderbird points, forcing a Cougars timeout up by six. 

Down by seven with under a minute left, T-Birds guard Shilpa Khanna knocked down a clutch three to put the her side down 74-70, and with just under 24 seconds remaining, Penn stepped to the line where she would make one of two free throws to put UBC within three points. 

However, that's as close as the 'Birds would get, with a pair of Abbey Gillette free throws would seal the win for the Cougars.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow evening at 3:00 pm (PT) on Kenyon Court.

"We're a young team," said Huband. "We're going to go over film with the girls, make sure they understand where the mistakes were, and what we have to do to avoid them tomorrow. We'll make sure they're ready to go."