VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds dropped their second straight game against the University of Victoria Vikes Saturday afternoon falling 82-69 at CARSA Performance Gym. The 'Birds return home sitting in sixth place with four games left in the Canada West regular season.
The T-Birds opened Saturday's game with six straight points from first year guard
Olivia Weekes. A jumper by
Hailey Counsell extended the UBC lead to six heading into the media timeout up 19-13.
Katie Hartman knocked down a fast break jumper to put the 'Birds up nine and finish the quarter leading 26-20.
Consecutive layups by Counsell around the six-minute mark put the T-Birds out front 32-30. Back-and-forth play ensued and with just under a minute left in the first half,
Kate Johnson evened the game at forty with her southpaw jumper. The Vikes made another basket to take 42-40 lead heading into the break.
The home side was able to extend the lead with a double-digit run to close out third frame, Vikes up 64-52.
The Vikes did not look back as they extended their margin to 20 with just four minutes to play, fending off the the 'Birds comeback attempt to earn the 82-60 win.
Johnson led the T-Birds with 22 points on an efficient 11-18 from the field as Weekes and Counsell added 12 points apiece. The T-Birds did leave some points on the stripe in their second matchup with the Vikes, converting on only half of their 18 attempts.
Next up:
The T-Birds look to bounce-back at home against the Fraser Valley Cascades on February 11th, tip-off at 6 p.m. (PT). FVU's 10-2 record is good for second place in the Canada, currently on a two game win-streak.
