VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (9-6) fell 70-53 to the UBC Okanagan Heat (9-8) on Friday night at War Memorial Gym, as the Heat led from start to finish and shot 53 percent from three, while the 'Birds trailed by 15 just five minutes into the first and – despite cutting the deficit to nine in the third quarter – couldn't complete the comeback.
"I thought we started out super tentatively," said UBC head coach Erin McAleenan. "We were a bit on edge and that kind of changed how we played on the defensive end. Full credit to UBCO, they played hard, moved the ball well, rebounded really well, and the three-pointers were really dropping for them tonight…two of their players hit four threes. For us, we can't have just one player in double-digits. I thought there was some physical play that we didn't respond to well enough. We weren't adapting to how the refs were calling the game, and that set us back on the offensive end. At the end of the day, we were forced to play too much in the half court outside of the third quarter, when we were able to pick it up a bit."
Jaeli Ibbetson led the UBCO with 18 points, nine rebounds, and shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc, Lauren Foullong had 14 points on 4-for-6 from three and Sofia Aina Lluch racked up 10 assists in the win. Hailey Counsel had a team-high 17 points for the 'Birds with three rebounds and two steals, while
Emily Martindale added eight points with four assists, four boards, and three steals in the loss.
Azalya Forstbauer chipped in with eight points and two rebounds.
The Heat capitalized off early T-Bird turnovers and jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the first quarter, while shooting 4-for-5 from three and finished the frame up 26-10. UBC got out in transition for a Counsel layup in the second before the veteran guard earned an and-one at 28-17 UBCO. The visitors responded with an 8-0 run before a Martindale layup got the 'Birds back on the board and UBC headed into halftime down 38-23.
Abby Smith extended the Heat lead to 44-25 in the third, but Counsel knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to 44-30 midway through the quarter. Counsel then snagged a rebound and laid it in at 48-37 and
Sofia Bergman cut the deficit to nine before Rachel Hare scored a buzzer-beater for a 50-39 Heat advantage after three. Foullong drained three straight treys for a commanding 59-41 lead and Alessia Brutto gave the visitors a 22-point lead that they'd carry through to the decisive victory.
The T-Birds will look to snap their three-game slide on Saturday, January 28th, at 4:00 p.m., as the two teams will square off in a rematch inside War Memorial Gym.
