VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds put together a strong performance from start to finish to defeat the Lethbridge Pronghorns 67-5 at the Gerald McGavin UBC Rugby Centre and take sole possession of first place in the Canada West. UBC remains undefeated at 4-0 with one game remaining in the regular season and a five-point lead over the Pronghorns (3-2) atop the conference.


 
Savannah Bauder continued to dominate offensively for the T-Birds with three tries and six conversions – raising her total to nine tries and 15 converts so far this season – making it three straight games with three tries for the second-year fly-half from North Vancouver. Fourth-year centre Shoshanah Seumanutafa recorded two tries, while first-year 'Birds Mikiela Nelson and Florence Symonds also scored a pair of tries each for the 'Birds en route to a decisive win on home field.
 

?? WRUG | T-Birds start the game off strong with a try in the 6th minute! @UBCWRugby lead @HornsRugby 7-0. #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/WVGBiDK9x5

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 14, 2021

"It was a team effort today," said UBC head coach Dean Murten. "We set the platform with the forwards and the backs looked sharp – unbeatable at times. Things are beginning to click a bit better now and I was happy with how we kept going and kept playing…we're trying to have a ruthless edge to us, and they showed that today."
 
Although his team continues to rack up wins in the regular season, Murten still sees room for improvement as the Thunderbirds strive to defend their 2019 Canada West championship title.
 
"We're gradually getting better and better but there's still work to do," added Murten. "We're making simple errors in certain areas of the game and against high-class teams we're going to be punished for that. We have to improve another 10-15% to get where we want to be."
 
The Pronghorns won the battle for field position early but couldn't capitalize, and UBC's Kally King broke through up the left sideline for a quick counter. Soon after, in the seventh minute, Symonds scored on the grubber from Seumanutafa and Bauder made the convert for a 7-0 lead. Seumanutafa scored a try of her own in the 18^th minute after a strong run from Piper Logan to make it 12-0 before Logan intercepted a Pronghorns pass and ran it in from midfield for the converted try at 19-0. Seumanutafa tallied her second try of the evening to build the lead to 24-0 before Lethbridge responded with a Gwen Fillinger try in the 29^th minute, but the Pronghorns momentum was short lived. First-year T-Birds prop Mikiela Nelson scored her first try of the season before breaking through the line for a big run and second try to make it 36-5 for the 'Birds heading into halftime.


 
UBC maintained control in the second half as Bauder got on the board with her first try of the game off the scrum early, Emma Feldinger added a converted try in the 45^th minute, and Symonds scored her second try of the game as the 'Birds led 55-5 in the 54^th minute. Bauder extended her scoring streak with back-to-back tries in the 66^th and 77^th minute, respectively, as the T-Birds cruised to a 67-5 victory.


 
Next up, the T-Birds host the University of Victoria Vikes in the regular season finale on Saturday, October 23^rd, at 1:00 p.m. (PST).

Scoring Summary
 
First Half
7' UBC – Florence Symonds Try (conversion – Savannah Bauder) 7-0
18' UBC – Shoshanah Seumanutafa Try 12-0
21' UBC – Piper Logan Try (conversion Savannah Bauder) 19-0
26' UBC – Shoshanah Seumanutafa Try 24-0
29' LET – Gwen Fillinger Try 24-5
32' UBC – Mikiela Nelson Try (conversion – Savannah Bauder) 31-5
35' UBC – Mikiela Nelson Try 36-5
 
Second Half
42' UBC – Savannah Bauder Try 41-5
45' UBC – Emma Feldinger Try (conversion – Savannah Bauder) 48-5
54' UBC – Florence Symonds Try (conversion – Savannah Bauder) 55-5
66' UBC – Savannah Bauder Try (conversion – Savannah Bauder) 62-5
77' UBC – Savannah Bauder Try 67-5