WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Wesmen outlasted the UBC Thunderbirds 78-71 in a back-and-forth Canada West women's basketball contest Friday night at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg.

The Thunderbirds (4-5) were led by Maddison Penn, whose double-double included 31 points and 13 rebounds. Jessica Hanson finished off the game with 18 points, while Ali Norris dished out six assists with UBC.

Antoinette Miller of Winnipeg (5-4) – who played the entire game – led all scorers with 31 points, nine assists, nine steals and seven rebounds. Faith Hezekiah was second in team scoring with 14 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Trailing 64-58 after three quarters, Winnipeg pulled off the comeback victory by outscoring the visitors 20-7 in the final period.



Hanson's 12-point performance in the third helped give the Thunderbirds the slim lead going into the fourth.

The halftime score was 41-38 in favour of the hosts, despite UBC holding a 25-12 advantage after the first quarter, thanks in part to Penn's 14 points. As a team, the Thunderbirds made 10 of their 19 field goal attempts in the opening period, and held Miller, the Canada West's leader scorer, to just three points.

UBC went 29-of-57 from the field, shooting 50.9 per cent, while Winnipeg won the turnover battle 21-9.

The two teams return to action Saturday, with tipoff slated for 5 p.m. CT / 4 p.m. PT at the Duckworth Centre.