KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan (0-18) played their final home game Saturday night, falling 66-48 to the UBC Thunderbirds (10-8) who clinched a playoff spot with their sixth straight win.

Keylyn Filewich and  Gabrielle Laguerta combined for half of the Thunderbirds points to power UBC to the win.

The 'Birds head into the final regular season weekend in eighth place in the Canada West standings, ahead of Alberta based on the playoff determining RPI.
 

First Half:

The first quarter proved a tougher fight than was expected by the Thunderbirds. Some scrappy play by UBC allowed the Heat to match their higher ranked opponents with the first ending at a score of 10-8 for the T-Birds. Until the last two minutes of play, the Thunderbirds had fouled five times compared to the Heat's zero, allowing for three free throws to be sunk by the Heat.

The Thunderbirds came out strong in the second, widening their lead with much cleaner play than was seen in the first quarter. Filewich led the Thunderbirds with powerful play earning her 11 points in the second alone. By the end of the half the Thunderbirds had increased their lead to 18 points with a half-time score of 39-21.
 



Second Half:

The third quarter followed suit with the first with lower scoring. The Heat won the frame by a point thanks to a standout performance from Jordan Korol and her eight points.

The Thunderbirds had multiple chances to make up ground from the Heat's five fouls, but it turned out to not be quite enough.

The back-and-forth continued into the last quarter of the game, as neither team seemed able to overpower the other. Both teams were charging hard trying to gain a footing over the other, but this only led to fouls with each team picking up five. The Heat played exceptionally better than Friday night's contest, with only an 18-point difference at the final buzzer compared to Friday's 27. The Heat's final home game of the season ended with a huge three-point buzzer beater by Anastasia Evans to make the final score 66-48.
 
The Thunderbirds play a home-and-home with the University of Victoria Vikes in the final weekend of the regular season. The Vikes host the 'Birds Thursday night before UBC heads home for the annual Courtside game Friday night at War Memorial Gym.