REGINA, Sask. - The UBC Thunderbirds used a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Regina Cougars for a 70-58 victory on Friday night as both teams opened the Canada West schedule at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
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A three-pointer by Madeleine Tell midway through the final period brought the Cougars to within three points after trailing nearly the entire game, but it was all UBC from there. The Thunderbirds got back-to-back threes from
Jessica Hanson on the next two possessions and only allowed one Regina field goal in the last five minutes of the contest to help lock up a win in their first game of the season.
Hanson finished as the game's leading scorer, hitting all three of her attempts from three-point range and scoring 21 points in the win.
Keylyn Filewich added 17 points for UBC, which shot 44% from the field as a team including 6-for-13 from beyond the arc.
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Emily Dewey was 8-for-16 for the Cougars and finished with team highs in both points (17) and rebounds (8) in her first career Canada West game. Michaela Kleisinger added 15 points and seven rebounds for Regina.
UBC opened up the game on an 8-0 run and led 21-12 after the opening quarter, but the Cougars put together a 9-0 run capped by a Dewey three-point play to tie it up at 23-23. But UBC never trailed, with the Thunderbirds leading 32-29 at halftime and using 10 straight points late in the third to help build up a 50-43 lead heading into the final period.
Tell's triple marked the second time the Cougars had made it a one-possession game in the fourth, but UBC's big game-ending run put the visitors up for good.
"It was a very solid road win tonight and a nice way to begin the season," said UBC head coach
Deb Huband. "We were sparked by Jess Hanson's leadership and offensive efficiency which helped us pull away in the fourth quarter."
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The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at the CKHS. Game time is set for 6:00.
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