The UBC Thunderbirds (3-7) are back on home court after seven weeks away from Canada West play to take on the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack (1-10) on Friday and Saturday at War Memorial Gym. Last weekend's games against the UBCO Heat and UNBC Timberwolves were postponed due to covid related protocols and have been rescheduled for mid-February. The 'Birds are set to tip off at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday, January 21^st, and at 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, January 22^nd.

"I'm very proud of how resilient our young women have been over the last 3 weeks," said UBC head coach Erin McAleenan in reference to the holiday layoff and other scheduling challenges ahead of their first game action of 2022. "It hasn't been easy for them to stay motivated, but they have been grateful to continue to have the opportunity to practice and be in the gym together. I know they are very eager to get back on the court to compete in games this weekend so it will be very rewarding for all of us."


 
UBC is 3-7 in conference play, but four of their losses have been decided by fewer than five points and their most recent loss came in overtime against the Canada West-leading Trinity Western Spartans (9-1) to close out 2021. Veteran guard Hailey Counsell led the T-Birds with 15 points and five assists – adding seven rebounds in the 68-61 O.T. defeat back on December 4^th at War Memorial Gym. Fourth-year guard Kate Johnson put up 10 points with four steals in the 'Birds last game against the Spartans and is averaging a team-high 15.2 points per game and 2.6 steals per game.


 
First-year Thunderbirds Olivia Weekes and Katie Hartman have made an impact defensively in their first ten games with the blue and gold, as Weekes is second on the roster with 6.5 rebounds per game (behind Dina Strujic's 7.3 boards per game) and Hartman is averaging 1.6 steals per game with 4.2 rebounds per game.
 
The 'Birds will be up against a one-win WolfPack squad on a three-game losing streak to start 2022, as TRU has faced Trinity Western in three straight games to start the new year due to scheduling changes. Jessica Orr leads the WolfPack in scoring with 8.3 points per game, with both Kyla Smith and Elana Sireni close behind at 8.1 points per game.

"TRU looks to push in transition and they keep the ball moving in the half-court so we will have to control the pace and slow them down," added McAleenan on what she expects from the visitors. "They also shoot the ball well from long range and have shown that they can get hot, so we will have to do a good job of running them off the 3pt line this weekend." 
 
Tickets are available online for free when reserved in advance, and all the Canada West action can also be streamed live on Canada West TV.