VANCOUVER – The season came to an end for the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team (0-2) on Friday night, as they fell 60-52 to the Alberta Pandas (2-0) in the second game of the best-of-three Canada West quarter-finals. With the win, the host Pandas completed the sweep following their 62-58 win last night.
 
Jessica Hanson led the 'Birds with 13 points and four rebounds, while Maddison Penn notched 12 points and three boards. Fifth-year senior Kara Spotton, in her final game for the Blue and Gold, totalled 11 points (on 5-of-9 shooting), five rebounds, and an assist.
 
"I think our youth kind of played into tonight," said UBC head coach Deb Huband. "We've shown flashes of the team we can be, but we're still a very young team and with youth comes inconsistency. That isn't the way we wanted to end our season, especially for our three fifth-years [Spotton, Andrea Strujic, and Susan Thompson]."
 
"Hopefully this experience will be something the returning girls learn from and take to heart – it was the first taste of post-secondary playoffs for six of them, so I definitely think we can build on what they accomplished this year," said Huband.
 


Backs against the wall, the 'Birds came out with urgency on both sides of the ball in Game 2, opening the contest on a 15-4 run that saw five players hit the score sheet, while also out-rebounding the Pandas 10-4 over the contest's first six minutes.
 
UBC parlayed that hot start into a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter, with Spotton's five points leading the charge for the T-Birds attack.
 
The defensive battle continued well into the second frame, as the T-Birds dialed up the perimeter pressure on the Pandas. The 'Birds built up a 31-14 lead with just under two minutes left in the half, as Spotton continued her low-post dominance while Hanson nailed a couple of tough jumpers get UBC well out in front.
 
The Pandas did well to storm back in the quarter's late stages, taking advantage of a couple 'Birds miscues to rattle off a 10-2 run and cut the gap to 33-24 by halftime.
 
Keeping up their momentum, Megan Tywoniuk and Vanessa Wild got the Pandas within a single point with just two minutes remaining in the third quarter, drilling back-to-back-to-back threes to reduce the UBC advantage to 39-38.
 
Shilpa Khanna delivered the perfect answer to the Pandas' momentum, as the UBC guard notched her first points of the game on a deep triple, leading the T-Birds into a 42-38 advantage heading into the final frame.
 
Alberta took their first lead of the contest midway through the fourth, forging ahead 46-44 on a layup from Maddie Rogers, who finished with a team-high 13 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Tywoniuk and Rogers hit a couple of timely triples to seal the Pandas eventual 60-52 win.