The UBC Thunderbirds will embark on a short road trip this weekend heading out to Langley BC to visit the Trinity Western Spartans in what will be a battle of teams with identical 8-4 records meeting for back to back meetings.
 
It all gets started on Friday, January 11 with a 6:00 p.m. tipoff followed by a 5:00 p.m. start on Saturday, January 12 at the Langley Events Centre.
 
It will be the first meeting between the teams in over a year, dating back to late November 2017 when the 'Birds earned a weekend split, beginning with a 69-58 win and followed by slim 75-71 loss.
 

?? WBB | A thrilling finish by @ubctbirds as they close out the 3rd quarter with a 3 point buzzer beater! The 'Birds increase their lead to 67-44 vs. @UBCOHeat.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/lAMg1onvHn

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) January 6, 2019

 

Last Action

 
Coming out of the holiday break the T-Birds (8-4) extended their winning streak to five consecutive games to begin 2019 thanks to back to back victories of 69-51 and 87-57 over visiting UBC Okanagan at War Memorial Gym.
 
The Spartans (8-4) will be looking for a third win in their last four outings after splitting a pair of decisions last weekend against the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen, winning the first game 60-57 before falling 70-60 the following night.


 

Players to Watch

 
Keylyn Filewich – (#9, F) The third-year forward and T-Birds leading scorer combined for 52 points and a pair of double-doubles to lead the Thunderbirds to a weekend sweep over the Heat. Filewich hit the 20-point mark for the third time this Canada West season Friday night to lead the T-Birds. She also tied for the team lead in total rebounds with ten, her fifth double-double of the season while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. The Winnipeg native followed up with yet an even more impressive performance Saturday night, draining a career-high 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting (68.4 percent) while adding another ten rebounds. Now up to 17.7 points per game, seventh in the Canada West, Filewich leads the conference in offensive rebounds (58) and field goal percentage (60.0).
 
Maddison Penn – (#, G) The fourth-year guard combined for 33 points and 17 rebounds in last weekend's sweep of the Heat, this included registering a double double on Saturday in scoring 17 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Penn sits third in the conference standings averaging 10.3 rebounds per game.


 

Coach's Take

 
"I think we had visible signs of improvemnt on what we spent time working on in December, some of the specific aspects of the game," said UBC head coach Deb Huband on returning to regular season play with two wins last weeknd. "We're focused on continui to get to a place where we can compete in Canada West playoffs and feel we're taking step in the right direction"
 
Huband also previewed what she expects when visiting the Spartans this weekend.
 
"TWU had a rough pre-season but have been successful in league play," added Huband the'yre led by a couple of veteran all-stars and play great as a team unit. They're one of the best three-point shooting teams in the conference so our defence will have to be up to the test and we look forward to the challenge."