VANCOUVER – February has arrived and so has the home stretch of the Canada West women's basketball regular season. Erin McAleenan's UBC Thunderbirds (10-6) are already four victories ahead of their 2021-22 total and are now looking to cement the best playoff seeding possible with a strong finish. This weekend at War Memorial Gym, the blue and gold continue their seven-game homestand with a Friday-Saturday double-header against their Highway 1 rivals from the University of the Fraser Valley (11-5).
 
Last weekend against UBCO, the 'Birds avenged a tough 17-point Friday loss with an even more emphatic 28-point victory the next night. The UBC defense, which has been the team's calling card for much of the season, forced 23 UBCO turnovers – 16 of which were steals.
 
"Friday we started slow," claimed Erin McAleenan. "We spotted UBCO 15 points and our offensive struggles impacted the way we played at the other end of the floor too. But Saturday we re-emphasized our focus on defense. We changed our starting lineup to try and create more disruption defensively, and offensively the focus was being better in transition and getting more points in the paint, which we did."


 
UBC's ability to bounce back so effectively on Saturday showed maturity and resilience – two characteristics that McAleenan says have been a work in progress. But with the regular season winding down, the coaching staff are taking solace in the fact that their players are showing the necessary leadership and drive to get back on track quicker when things aren't going as well.
 
"When we commit to playing a disruptive, tough brand of basketball we know that we can have success against anyone," remarked McAleenan. "It's great to be able to bounce back that quickly, but now the challenge is to bounce back 'earlier' in games when things aren't going well. We have to try and narrow the gap quicker."
 
This weekend the UBC Thunderbirds will also be recognizing their lone graduating player Azalya Forstbauer. The Cawston, B.C. product is averaging 5.2 points-per-game while providing strong defense on a nightly basis. The head coach acknowledged that Forstbauer's personality will be difficult to replace in the coming seasons. "Azalya is such a great personality to have on the team. She's just got a great energy and is a really hard worker. She's consistent, she communicates well, and having a player like her puts everybody in a better mood when she's around."


 
These two upcoming clashes with UFV have sizeable playoff implications. A pair of wins for UBC (currently ranked 7^th) would help them leapfrog the Cascades (currently ranked 5^th) in the Canada West standings. It would also keep their hopes of hosting a home playoff game alive. The Cascades though are no joke. They've defeated UBC in four of the previous five matchups dating back to January 4^th, 2020.
 
"UFV is a great matchup because overall we're quite similar," concluded McAleenan. "We're both strong in transition, both tough to contain inside and defensively we're two of the top teams in Canada West. Maddy Gobeil is a tough matchup and a big key will be to try and contain her as best as possible."  Gobeil recorded 38 points last weekend in an 85-82 loss in Winnipeg. It was the third highest single-game point total recorded in Canada West this season.
 
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.