VANCOUVER – Following a bye week the UBC Thunderbirds women's basketball team is back in action this weekend hosting the Mt. Royal Cougars for back to back meetings.
It all gets started on Friday, November 30 with a 6:00 p.m. tipoff while the rematch takes place on Saturday, December 1 with a 5:00 p.m. start at historic War Memorial Gym. For the opening game the 'Birds will be celebrating their second annual Festive Friday, signifying the last day of classes and inviting fans to get into the holiday spirit. Fans are encouraged to wear a seasonal sweater or some holiday colours while cheering on the 'Birds.
For more information on Festive Friday, visit:
https://gothunderbirds.ca/sports/2017/11/23/festive-friday.aspx
It will be the team's first regular season meeting in nearly two years dating back to late January of 2017 when the squads split a pair of contests in Calgary with the 'Birds dropping a 80-75 decision in the opener before bouncing back to claim a convincing 87-59 win.
Last Action
Two weeks ago, the T-Birds (4-4) split their meeting with the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack beginning with a 73-61 setback after the visitors displayed an extremely efficient shooting percentage to secure the win. The 'Birds responded with authority the next night with a resounding 78-43 victory.
Mt. Royal (2-8) are come to town still search of their first road win of the season and are coming off back to back losses on home court against MacEwan with scores of 73-66 last Friday and 69-54 on Saturday.
Players to Watch
Keylyn Filewich (#9, F) The third-year forward recorded a double double in their last outing, a 78-44 win over TRU scoring a game high 18 points while adding 10 rebounds. Filewich is second in team scoring averaging 16.1 points per game while leading the team in rebounds averaging 11.1 per game.
Maddison Penn (#15, G) The fourth-year guard also recorded a double double in their last win over TRU, scoring 17 points and adding an impressive 15 rebounds, 12 of which were collected at the defensive end. Penn leads the T-Birds in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per game and is second on the squad in rebounds, averaging 10.5 per game.
Coach's Take
"It feels like a while since we've played but I think we've really benefited by having some time off to get ourselves a little bit healthier," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "So we're looking forward to the final matchup of the year and hope that we can find some more consistency and execution on the offensive end as well as the defensive end."
Huband also previewed what she expects from the visiting Cougars this weekend.
"They're a pretty dynamic group, they have a lot of quickness in their back court and play an up-tempo style," added Huband. "So, we'll have to be ready to control the tempo defensively and they look to score early by getting to the rim with their quickness or their three-point shooting so it will be important for us to be ready to guard with tenacity."
