LANGLEY, BC –The UBC Thunderbirds outscored the Spartans 10-4 in the final minutes to earn a 62-53 victory over Trinity Western Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre. The win gives UBC a 16-4 record on the season, while the loss drops TWU to 12-8. The Thunderbirds will finish fifth in Canada West RPI rankings and host a best-of-three play-in series at War Memorial Gym on February 17th, 18th, and 19th if necessary.
Kara Spotton had 14 points and 10 rebounds,
Jessica Hanson added 16 points and
Maddison Penn chipped in 11 points to lead the Thunderbirds.
TWU finished the evening with a 41-37 edge in rebounds, while the Thunderbirds finished the night out shooting the Spartans 46.2 percent (23-58) to 33.3 percent (22-66). UBC finished the night shooting 12-15 from the foul line, while TWU went 5-6. Both teams made four three-point shots. TWU went 4-21, while UBC finished at 4-12.
The two teams were highly efficient in the opening quarter. TWU and UBC both missed the first shots of the game, but over the next five minutes the Spartans shot 6-8 from the field, while the T-Birds shot 4-4 as TWU led 13-11. UBC would remain perfect from the field for the remainder of the quarter, while TWU cooled off as the Thunderbirds led 20-17 at the end of the opening 10 minutes. UBC finished the quarter shooting 88.9 percent (8-9), while TWU finished at 40 percent (8-20). Twelve different players scored for the two teams, with TWU's Tessa Ratzlaff leading the way with six points.
The second quarter was a more defensive battle as both teams saw their shooting percentages drop dramatically. Halfway into the quarter UBC had expanded their lead to six points, 25-19, after a
Kara Spotton jump shot. Back-to-back jumpers and two made free throws by TWU's Ratzlaff tied the game at 25-25 with three minutes remaining in the half. The Thunderbirds finished the second quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 31-27 lead into the half-time break. Ratzlaff led the Spartans at the half with 12 points, while
Jessica Hanson led the Thunderbirds with nine points. TWU finished the first half shooting 32.4 percent (11-34), while UBC finished at 46.5 percent (12-26).
The Spartans started the second half with baskets from baskets from Kayla Gordon and Ratzlaff to tie the game at 31-31. Spotton made it five straight points for the Thunderbirds, who took a 38-33 lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter. A basket by UBC's
Andrea Strujic gave the visitors an eight-point lead, 44-36 with two minutes remaining. TWU second year guard Breanna Cabuco (Coquitlam, B.C.) made it a six point UBC lead to end the third quarter leading 44-38. UBC finished the third quarter shooting 26.3 percent (5-19), while TWU finished shooting 33.3 percent (5-15).
TWU started the fourth quarter with back-to-back three pointers by Jessie Brown to tie the game at 44-44 with seven minutes remaining. UBC regained a five-point lead, 52-47 after a
Jessica Hanson jumper with four minutes remaining. Kayla Gordon cut the UBC lead to two points, 53-51, with just over two minutes remaining. It was as close as TWU would get down the stretch as UBC finished with a 9-2 run to make the final 62-53 for the Thunderbirds.
