VANCOUVER – The UBC women's basketball team is set to open week four of the Canada West season by hosting the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack for back to back contests this weekend.
 
It all gets started on Friday, November 16 with a 6:00 p.m. tipoff followed by a 5:00 p.m. start time on Saturday, November 17 with both games taking place at historic War Memorial Gym. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to both weekend games in support of the U SPORTS Shoot for the Cure initiative as the Thunderbirds are continuing their tradition of fundraising for the fight against cancer.
 
It will be the school's first regular season meeting in some time dating back just over two years ago when the T-Birds traveled to TRU and picked up consecutive wins in early November, 2016 with scores 78-59 and 81-62.


 

Last Action

 
The T-Birds (3-3) ranked No. 10 in the country are coming off a weekend split on the road against the Manitoba Bisons, beginning with very close 75-72 defeat on Friday night followed by a bounce back 71-63 victory on Saturday night. The win saw some spread out offence from the visitors with five 'Birds entering double digits in scoring on the night.
 
The Wolfpack are still in search of their first win on the young season and fell to (0-4) after suffering back to back home court losses against the visiting UVic Vikes last weekend by scores of 78-59 and 81-62.


 

Players to watch

 
Keylyn Filewich (#9, F) – The Third-year forward continues to be a force in the paint and came away from last weekend's action scoring a combined 28 points and 25 rebounds while earning a double double in both games in Manitoba. Filewich ranks second in all of Canada West averaging 11.8 rebounds per game while also leading the T-Birds in scoring averaging 16.5 points per game.
 
Jessica Hanson (#11, F) – The fourth-year guard had an impactful weekend in combining for 25 points, five rebounds and four assists in the loss and the win vs the Bisons. Hanson is tied with fellow guard Kate Johnson for the team lead in assists per game averaging 3.7 while also sitting in third spot on the 'Birds scoring list averaging 11.7 points per game.


 

Coach's Take

 
"I think it reflects some of the parity in the league and how on any given night of teams can beat a number of other teams and I think we've seen that over the first few weekends," said UBC head coach Deb Huband in referencing the weekend split against the previously unbeaten Bisons. "It's a reminder of bringing your preparation and your best self to performance every night and taking care of what's within your control. I think Manitoba was a strong opponent who was playing very well and were deserving of the win on Friday night. I think for us we're in a state of learning from game to game and I think that at some point all this experience that our team is gaining will help us."

Huband also looked ahead to what she expects from the Wolfpack this weekend.
 
"They compete hard, we're quite familiar with at least their starting lineup and they're a veteran group now with a handful of fourth and fifth year players so we've had a number of years playing against them," continued Huband. "They shoot the three-point shot very frequently and quite well so we'll have to defend the perimeter and I think most importantly for us is to take another step in getting some consistency and deeper understanding of our game planning and how we need to execute as a group."