The Matchup
The UBC Thunderbirds are set for more playoff action and a tough test as they hit the road to visit the No. 2 ranked Regina Cougars in a best of three quarter final series beginning Thursday night.
The young T-Birds squad will be fairly familiar with the Cougars having met just over two months ago in early December at UBC where it was Regina winning both games by scores of 81-54 and 72-56 at War Memorial Gym.
Game one goes on Thursday night with a 5 p.m. PT tip off at CKHS, University of Regina. Game two goes on Friday and if necessary, game three would take place on Saturday, both with the same 5 p.m. PT tip offs.
Last Action
The 'Birds earned the right to advance in the playoffs following an impressive 77-73 play-in game victory over the visiting Lethbridge Pronghorns last Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
Meanwhile the Pronghorns are well rested after finishing first in the Canada West regular season standings and earning a first round bye. Their last action was on the final weekend of the regular season where they split road games against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, winning the opener 74-59 but dropping the second meeting 87-82.
By the Numbers
40 – The 'Birds three-point shooting percentage after hitting eight of their 20 attempts from beyond the arc in last Fridays play-in game victory vs Lethbridge.
42 – The total number of points the T-Birds scored from inside the paint last week against the Pronghorns, helping the hosts advance to quarter final action.
Players to Watch
Keylyn Filewich (#9, F) The second-year forward earned a double double last weekend combining for an efficient 22 points and 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes of action due to early foul trouble against Lethbridge.
Gabrielle Laguerta (10, G) The second-year guard had the hot shooting hand against the Cougars, picking up 13 points on five of nine shooting from the floor. Laguerta was also a threat from three-point land hitting on three of her seven attempts from distance.
Coach's Take
Thunderbirds head coach
Deb Huband is pleased with how her team has been trending in 2018 which includes last week's play-in game win against Lethbridge.
"Obviously I was pleased with the result and I think our group managed the stress of the single elimination very well," said Huband. "We had some strong leadership and composure from our veterans and we had some people come in off the bench and make a difference for us. I think it was a great learning experience especially with everything Lethbridge threw at us defensively for us to stay composed and for us to have a good team game."
Huband also sized up what she expects when they meet a top ranked Cougars squad in quarter final action beginning Thursday.
"I think heading out on the road for the series will be a challenging one as they're top of Canada West and ranked second in the country," Huband continued. "They're a deep team that has a great veteran presence as well as some younger contributors. We saw them in early December but we were missing
Keylyn Filewich so we were even younger than we are now and I think there's been a lot of growth in our team since we last saw them and I'm expecting a battle."
