VANCOUVER – With the holiday break looming, the UBC Thunderbirds (4-2) are looking to head into the break on a winning note. After four straight games on the road, the blue and gold return to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym this weekend for a pair of weekend games against the University of Alberta Pandas (5-1).
 
After roaring out of the gates with four straight wins, Erin McAleenan's crew dropped a pair of road games last weekend to Mount Royal – Each game by a two-point margin. The second-year head coach saw some encouraging signs from her young team, along with some important lessons learned.
 
"Our youth and inexperience showed at times last weekend," said Erin McAleenan. "In both games we were able to generate the looks and the shots that we wanted but we just didn't make the shots. But the big lessons for us are: Getting ourselves out of our 'lows' faster and building those consistent habits during practice that will carry over into the pressure moments of games."


 
Offensively UBC has been led so far by second-year guard Olivia Weekes who sits seventh in Canada West with 18.8 points-per-game. Her .579 field-goal percentage is tops in all of Canada West. Emily Martindale has chimed in with 9.8 points-per-game and has clicked at a .430 percentage from three-point range. Depth has been an early season strength for UBC, and has helped contribute to their early season identity as a team that's hard to defend and game plan against.
 
"We share the basketball really well," added McAleenan. "It makes us a tough team to scout because we've had numerous players step up offensively, and that's a testament to how we're moving the ball, playing with pace and attacking in transition. There's also been a big focus on being more disruptive defensively and at times we've looked really good. Of course we'd like to be more consistent, but given how young we still are, I'm encouraged by the 'team' basketball we're playing at both ends of the floor."


 
The Alberta Pandas are off to a fine start in 2022-23, boasting a 5-1 record. They've captured three straight victories and have been led by fifth-year forward Emma Kary who sits third in Canada West scoring with 22.0 points-per-game. Third-year forward Claire Signatovich brings a league-leading 14.8 rebounds per game along with 14.33 points-per-game.
 
"Alberta is an experienced team and they've had a great start to their season," concluded McAleenan. "Emma Kary is a Canada West all-star and a tough matchup for anybody. Claire Signatovich crashes the boards like crazy. So we're going to have to do our best to limit both of them as much as we can. For us it's being able to not get too far ahead of ourselves and focusing on what we can control. We know that Alberta is going to come in and play physically and it'll be up to us to disrupt that and create our own opportunities."
 
The home double-header weekend begins Friday at 5:00 pm PT for UBC. The two teams will then meet again Saturday at 4:00 pm. Tickets for both games can be purchased HERE. You can also watch live on Canada West TV.