SASKATOON – It got close late, but in the end the UBC Thunderbirds had enough of a buffer to pull off a 92-85 victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen in a conference quarter-final played at the University of Saskatchewan Thursday night.
 
With the win UBC advances to a Canada West semifinal where they will take on the Saskatchewan Huskies at 5:00 p.m. PT Friday.
 
A 23-5 run from the middle of the second quarter through to the mid-way point of the third was the difference in the contest as UBC turned what was a close contest into a 21-point advantage.


 
"That was when we were playing the most dynamically," said UBC head coach Deb Huband after the 'Birds earned a semifinal berth for the first time since 2015. "We were getting stops and rebounding the ball well which allowed us to get out and run in transition."
 
Keylyn Filewich finished with a game-high 29 points while also pulling down 13 rebounds to lead her team to victory.
 
A back-and-forth first half saw neither team hold a double-digit lead.
 
Both squads came out of the gates firing on offence. Winnipeg shot 63 per cent from the floor in the opening ten minutes to jump out to an early 25-21 advantage. The only reason the lead wasn't larger was the dominance shown in the paint by Filewich. Recently named a Canada West first team all-star, the Winnipeg native had 14 of her team's 21 points in the frame.


 
The momentum swung the other way in the second quarter. Winnipeg cooled down from their torrid shooting pace and the Thunderbirds ended the half on a 10-2 run, capped off by a layup from Filewich to give them a 48-39 lead at the break.
 
UBC was able to carry that run over into the second half.
 
Forcing turnovers and knocking down open looks, the T-Birds started the third quarter on a 13-3 run during which Kate Johnson had six points, allowing UBC to take a 75-58 lead heading into the final frame.
 
The Wesmen refused to go away, however, outscoring UBC 27-17 in the fourth. Starting the quarter on an 8-2 run keyed by offensive rebounds, Winnipeg cut the lead to eight thanks to a three-pointer from Jessica Dyck followed up by a layup from Anna Kernahagan with just under two minutes left to play.


 
In the end the deficit was too large to overcome, sending the Thunderbirds off to the semifinals and bringing Winnipeg's season to a close.
 
The game was also a bit of redemption for the 'Birds whose 2018-19 season ended with a play-in loss to the Wesmen.
 
UBC now faces the host Saskatchewan Huskies who advanced to the semis with an 80-75 win over the Victoria Vikes Thursday night. Friday's semifinal matchup tips off at 5:00 p.m. PT with a berth in the conference championship and the upcoming U SPORTS national championship on the line.