VANCOUVER - After sweeping the Winnipeg Wesmen to finish the regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds will face the Wesmen once again - but this time in a winner-take-all Canada West quarter final on Thursday at 3:00 p.m. PT in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
The T-Birds earned a first round bye after rattling off an eight-game win streak to finish third in the conference standings. Meanwhile, the sixth-place Wesmen took down the Manitoba Bisons in the Canada West play-in game last weekend to progress to the quarter-finals.
The winner of Thursday's quarter-final matchup will advance to the Canada West semifinals on Friday, February 21, also at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon.
UBC's offense was clicking down the stretch, as the 'Birds finished the regular season with the best field goal percentage in the Canada West (44.2 percent) and the second most points per game (75.7) while also averaging the third most rebounds per game (46.6). The Wesmen score an average 6.0 threes per game and tested the T-Birds in their final meeting by erasing a 22-point deficit before coming up just short to close the regular season.
Last Action
UBC last took to the floor to complete a series sweep over the Wesmen two weekends ago at War Memorial Gym. The 'Birds won 81-62 on night one, before holding off a surging Winnipeg side to take a 76-70 victory to conclude a strong regular season and earn a bye week. Keylyn Filewich racked up double-doubles on both nights against the Wesmen, while graduating senior Jessica Hanson totaled 13 assists and five steals to go with 19 points in her final two games on home court.
Third-year guard Robyn Boulanger put up a game-high 21 points and six assists with four rebounds in a 69-54 victory on home court to keep Winnipeg's season alive. Three other Wesmen reached double-digits in scoring (Jillian Duncan, Anna Kernaghan, and Mikayla Funk) while Duncan collected 11 rebounds in the win to earn a quarter-finals tilt with the T-Birds.
