VICTORIA – The UBC Thunderbirds received contributions from throughout their lineup en route to edging The Victoria Vikes 64-62 in their regular season finale on Vancouver Island, Saturday evening.
The T-Birds bounced back in the second of the home-and-home series after falling to the Vikes on Thursday evening at War Memorial Gym. UBC enjoyed a total team effort that saw many contributions and only one player score in double digits as
Sara Toneguzzi lead the way with 20 points while
Hailey Counsell and
Taelor Coxford added nine and eight points respectively. The spread out scoring didn't stop there as
Katie Hartman and
Sofia Bergman registered an identical stat line with six points and eight rebounds each.
UBC capitalized on being a cohesive unit throughout in vastly outscoring the hosts in both points of the bench as the 'Birds managed 27 compared to just six for the Vikes while the visitors took advantage of 21 points off turnovers compared to just eight for UVic.
Leading the way for the Vikes was
Kate Johnson with 18 points and four rebounds while Ashlyn Day added 15 points and seven rebounds in the setback.
The 'Birds scored eight points over the final two and a half minutes of play in the first quarter to go in front 20-17, after one. UBC stayed sharp into the second stanza with a 9-0 run to gain some separation and go ahead 33-22 which was the largest lead of the game with 4:20 to play in the first half and at the break it was UBC up 40-33.
After the half it was the Vikes going on a run of their own to the tune of 7-0 to overtake UBC 44-42 with 6:01 to play in the third quarter. UVic also beared down on defence in holding the visitors to just nine points while scoring 20 of their own to swing the balance in the third quarter for a 53-49 lead after 30 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter saw the T-Birds wrestle back momentum in outscoring the Vikes 15-9. UBC picked up six quick points thanks to three-pointers from Toneguzzi and
Cerys Merton while a
Mona Berlitz free throw put the T-Birds ahead 62-59 with 1:54 to go. Day responded with a three-pointer of her own for the Vikes to even the score at 62-62, but it was Berlitz coming through once again in the clutch to sink a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining to secure the 64-62 win.
With the win the T-Birds finished the Canada West regular season with an 11-9 record good for eighth spot in overall standings which serves as a five-win improvement from the (6-12) 2021-22 season for Erin McAleenan's young squad. With the loss the Vikes saw their record fall to 9-11 on the campaign.
The T-Birds now move into the post-season where they'll travel to the host University Saskatchewan next week for the Canada West play in games. Up first, UBC will face the UBC Okanagan Heat who finished ninth in the standings. The winner of that contest earns the right to meet the top seed Saskatchewan Huskies.
