VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds bounced back with a hard-fought effort on Saturday night but fell just shy of their fourth victory in a 68-61 overtime loss to the Trinity Western Spartans at War Memorial Gym.
 
"We talked a lot about energy, urgency and excitement, and those have been some of our short-term goals," said UBC head coach Erin McAleenan. "Especially after yesterday, when that was lacking overall, we did a really good job of that. It was evident in how we defended – aside from a few times in the third quarter – but overall, we battled and applied some good ball pressure. We just love the overtime games these days, and unfortunately didn't get a couple bounces we could have used at the end of the game."
 
Hailey Counsell led the T-Birds with 15 points and seven rebounds, Dina Strujic tallied nine points and seven boards, while Kate Johnson added ten points with three assists and four steals in the narrow loss.


 
"We had a lot more assists tonight than we've had in some other games," added McAleenan. "Finally, offensively, we're really figuring out how to share the basketball and find shots for our teammates. We're a young and/or inexperienced team with ten games that, all except for last night, have either been decided in overtime or super close at the end of the game. So, if anything, we've learned and gotten better. Now we get a little bit of rest, hopefully get a few more people back in the lineup, and we'll be ready to go for next semester."
 
Nicole Fransson had an impressive 25 points and 18 rebounds with seven assists in the win, Jolene Vlieg put up 12 points and seven assists, and Kianna Wiens added 10 points and five boards as the Spartans head into the winter break undefeated at 6-0.
 
Fransson picked up from where she left off on night one, opening the scoring for the Spartans with three straight baskets before Dina Strujic put the 'Birds on the board at 6-2 and Counsell gave UBC the lead with a layup and three. The home team settled in and traded buckets with TWU throughout a closely contested frame with the score tied at 16-16 after the first quarter.  


 
The T-Birds rebounded well in the second quarter and took the lead on an Azalya Forstbauer layup before Strujic hit a three for a 23-19 advantage. UBC's defence continued to get stops and carried a 29-25 lead into halftime.
 
Fransson scored first in the third quarter to make it a one-possession game, and Jayden Gill tied it up at 29-29 on the next TWU trip down the floor. With the score even at 33-33, Fransson got to the rim again for two and the Spartans extended their lead to five before Katie Hartman drained a three. Counsell brought the T-Birds back within four on a hard take to the rim at 43-39 Trinity Western at the end of the third quarter.
 
Down 47-43 in the fourth, Counsell slashed to the bucket and drew a foul – hitting both free throws – before Johnson made a free throw at 47-46 TWU. Counsell then earned a hoop and the harm to restore a narrow lead for the 'Birds with two minutes remaining. The Spartans took a timeout with possession and 42 seconds left on the clock but couldn't capitalize until Fransson scored in the paint with 13 seconds remaining to make it 54-53. TWU intentionally fouled Counsell with 11.2 on the clock, and the T-Bird guard hit one of two free throws. Down 55-53, the Spartans got the ball to Fransson in the paint – and the game's leading scorer beat the buzzer to send it to overtime.

?? WBB | @TWUSpartans ties it up 55-55 with @UBCWBBall at the buzzer to force a 5 minute overtime here at War Memorial Gym pic.twitter.com/INNBZta8UA

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) December 5, 2021

 
Jolene Vlieg knocked down two free throws for a 59-57 advantage in overtime and Kailey Reimer extended it to four at 62-58 with a short jumper. TWU forced a turnover and took a 64-59 lead with 34.3 remaining in the extra frame and held on for the victory.
 
Both teams will enjoy a lengthy break over the holidays and return to conference play in January. The Thunderbirds make their 2022 debut on January 13^th at UBC Okanagan, while the Spartans are back in action on January 7^th and 8^th on the road against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.