VANCOUVER — The UBC Thunderbirds began the regular season with a bang on Saturday afternoon, toppling the UNBC Timberwolves 91-62 in their home opener at War Memorial Gym. The new-look T-Birds showed off their pace and space approach with 30 fast break points and 39 points off of turnovers with 24 assists in the victory.
"A big focus for us was playing at our pace in transition," said UBC head coach Erin McAleenan after the decisive home-opening win. "If I'm being critical, there were a few times we'd steal it then turn it over, but the biggest thing for me was how we shared the ball. Whether it was in transition and/or in the halfcourt, it's a different style for us this year where I feel like all five players on the floor are consistent threats which makes it hard to defend. When the first few shots started dropping it made it a little easier too. At the end of the day UNBC has a few really good players and they run a lot of good actions for them. We put them on the free throw line too much, so we need to clean up our defence and also our decision making on offence a bit. At the end of the day, I'm super proud. It was a great game for us."
Olivia Weekes led the 'Birds with 18 points and seven rebounds, Mona Berlitz and Sara Toneguzzi each had 12 points and five assists, and Cerys Merton tallied five steals with five points and three assists in the victory.
Alina Shakirova had a team-high 17 points for the Timberwolves, Sveta Boykova put up seven points with nine boards, three steals and three assists, while Sarah Kuklisin added 12 points with five rebounds and five assists on the night.
Toneguzzi drained her second three of the game for a 23-13 lead late in the first quarter, then found Olivia Weekes on a baseline inbound for an easy two as the 'Birds closed the quarter with a 27-15 lead.
The T-Birds continued to click in the second, as Merton found
Hailey Counsell in transition for a layup and a 35-17 advantage. Olivia Wilson cut the deficit to 14 with a trey for the Timberwolves, but UBC's fast-paced offence scored with a Berlitz transition layup and an
Emily Martindale midrange jumper at 41-23 UBC. Kuklisin earned a tough finish in the paint late for UNBC as the T-Birds led 45-29 at halftime.
The Timberwolves came out aggressively in the second half and forced a string of UBC fouls, but the 'Birds bounced back and entered the bonus midway through the third quarter — grabbing seven steals in the frame and holding a 68-47 lead after three.
In the fourth, Jenna Korolek cashed in from deep for UNBC before Shakirova hit a three and Kuklisin scored a smooth up-and-under finish for the visitors, but the T-Birds maintained their lead through to the comfortable win.
The two teams will rematch on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (PT) inside War Memorial Gym to cap off the Canada West regular season series.
