The Matchup

 
The UBC Thunderbirds (6-8) go in search of a third straight victory when they host the MacEwan Griffins (4-10) this Friday and Saturday January 19 and 20.
 
It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Griffins won a 66-54 decision on the Point Grey campus of UBC over two years ago in late October of 2015. 
 
This weekend's action tips off on Friday with a special early 1 p.m. PT school day start that will see a healthy number of elementary school kids enjoying the action at War Memorial Gym, while the rematch goes Saturday at 5 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

 
The T-Birds are coming off two impressive road wins in getting past the Lethbridge Pronghorns last weekend with scores of 65-63 and 76-65 last Friday and Saturday.
 
The Griffins are coming off a weekend split, getting past the Mount Royal Cougars 53-49 last Friday followed up by a 70-61 setback on Saturday.

 
By the Numbers

 
30.0 – The average number of defensive rebounds UBC collects per game which ranks first in the Canada West.
 
39.6 – The Thunderbirds field goal shooting percentage which ranks fifth in the conference standings.


 

Players to Watch

 
Keylyn Filewich (#9, F) – The second-year forward is coming off dominating performances that saw her earn the Canada West Women's first star of the week after recording back to back double doubles in the 'Birds sweep of the Pronghorns. Filewich combined for an impressive 48 points and 22 rebounds in the victories last weekend in Lethbridge.
 
Maddison Penn (#15, G) – The third-year guard is averaging 19 points per game which ranks the native of Australia as the second leading scorer in Canada West.
 

Coach's Take

Thunderbirds head coach Deb Huband was very pleased with how her team tipped off the second half of the season with back to back wins in Lethbridge after an extended holiday break.

"We're very excited about the results as we had a very strong December that included the trip to Cuba that helped us grow and develop as a group, so it was really nice to reap the benefits of that and have such a solid start to the new year."
 
Huband is looking forward to meeting MacEwan this weekend and stepping back on home court for their first conference game action since early December.
 
"We haven't seen MacEwan in a while and we look forward to being back home at War Memorial where we only have three more home weekends in the second half of the season which is a little slight." Huband continued. "We really look forward to being able to play in front of our crowd and we're excited to play in the early game Friday for school day with lots of young fans and energy in the gym and we expect to match that with what we bring to the court this weekend."